Rosie O’Donnell, left, and Oprah Winfrey speak to the media after the unveiling of a new sign outside Harpo Studios welcoming “The Rosie Show,” to the studio Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, in Chicago. “The Rosie Show” premieres Monday, Oct. 10 on the Oprah Winfrey Network and will be filmed at the former home of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Reporting Nancy Harty
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — Oprah Winfrey came back to the West Loop studio where she filmed her talk show for 25 years to officially hand it over to Rosie O’Donnell.
Oprah unveiled the new sign Thursday afternoon at Randolph and Carpenter in front of dozens of Rosie’s staffers, calling it a lovely, sweet moment.
The sign now reads “Harpo Studios. The Rosie Show. Former home of the Oprah Winfrey show.”
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Oprah says she’s really fine with the transition and after 25 years, it was time.
“It’s wonderful that it gets to rise up and be passed on in the name of entertainment,” she said.
Winfrey says she kept her office because she’s still working there.
Oprah says since she moved in, the neighborhood changed from hosting prostitutes and meat houses to a thriving community.
Rosie was thanking Oprah for giving her what she called “a second shot bigger than the first shot” when a passing fan’s screams brought the comedian back from seriousness.
O’Donnell yelled to the fan that she’s filming a talk show, too.
O’Donnell says she bought a house near Wrigley Field — something that makes her handlers nervous, for fear of giving away too much information.
“The Rosie Show” debuts on the Oprah Winfrey Network at 6 p.m. Oct. 10.
