Lecture

LECTURE SERIES

ENTERTAINMENT

Entzminger Building

Tea Garden Pavilion

Jim Gatewood

Dance Theatre of
Arlington

Times

12:00 PM

TOURS
Administration Building, Tour
Rear Entrance to Cafeteria Times
12:00 PM

12:30 PM

12:30 PM
"Gangsters, Gamblers and
Oil Men at Top O' Hill Terrace"

Top O' Hill Terrace

Tour Commentary
by Vickie Bryant

1:15 PM
Dr. Weldon Cannon

Standing Room Only

"Bedford Reunion:
Finding the Way Home"

from Theatre Arlington

1:45 PM

1:45 PM
Top O' Hill Terrace

2:00 PM
Dr. Rick Selcer
"Fighting Sin from the Pulpit:
The Ministers vs. the Vice Kings
in Tarrant County"

Adlee H. Trezevant
Memorial Choir,
Historic I. M. Terrell,
Fort Worth

Tour Commentary
by Vickie Bryant

2:45 PM
Brad Patterson
3:00 PM Texas Historical Commission
"The Bankhead Highway in Texas"

3:00 PM
"My Way"

Top O' Hill Terrace

from Theatre Arlington

Tour Commentary
by Vickie Bryant

3:30 PM
Drew Sanders
"The Garden of Eden:
The Story of a Freedmen's
Community in Texas"

Historical Character
Costume Contest

4:15 PM
4:30 PM

5:00 PM

4:15 PM
"Refuse to Be a Victim"

Top O' Hill Terrace

Public Service Seminar

Tour Commentary
by Vickie Bryant

O.K. Carter
"Sometimes Lucky, Sometimes
Smart--But Always in the
Metroplex Middle:
Tipping Points for Arlington"

Just Jazz
5:30 PM
Top O' Hill Terrace

5:45 PM
Martha May Martin
Geraldine Mills

Tour Commentary
by Vickie Bryant

"Arlington Downs and the

W.T. Waggoner Legacy"

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

What do they
Mae West, John Wayne,
Benny Goodman and
Bonnie & Clyde
have in common?

At some time, all of them visited Top O Hill Terrace in Arlington, Texas!
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bankhead Highway, Top O Hill Terrace is hosting a festival
on April 9th from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m. There will be tours of the former casino and grounds,
vintage automobiles, lectures by local historians and entertainment in the Tea Garden.
As part of the Entertainment, festival goers are invited to attend the event dressed as a favorite
historical character from the 1930s or 1940s. Prizes, including theatre tickets and gift certificates to
local Arlington restaurants, will be awarded to the best characters!
In no particular order, here are some of the famous (and infamous!) people who were known to
frequent Top O Hill Terrace in its heyday
John Wayne, Gene Autry, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Hedy Lamarr, Mae West, W.T. Waggoner, Will
Rogers, Tom Mix, H.L. Hunt, Howard Hughes, and Tommy Dorsey
Also Lana Turner, Benny Goodman, Clint Murchison, Sally Rand, Sid Richardson, Jean Harlow, Tex
Beneke, Ben Hogan, Dorothy Franey Langkop, and Willetta Stellmacher
And there was Bugsy Siegel, Benny Binion, Don Ameche, W.C. Fields, Buster Keaton, Marlene
Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Floyd Hamilton, Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow, and Herbert The Cat Noble.
If you need ideas, check with Valerie Arnett at Junkerval.com & My Grandmas House, 3458
Bluebonnet Circle in Fort Worth. She has vintage clothing, jewelry and other accessories.
We look forward to seeing you on April 9th all decked out! For more information and to buy tickets,
visit http://www.eventbrite.com/o/top-o-hill-terrace-museum-6031920937
This project is funded in part by a grant from
the Arlington Cultural Tourism Council

ARLINGTON:
CRUISING BACK IN TIME
Top O Hill Terrace Celebrates the
Bankhead Highway Centennial
Saturday, April 9th, 2016
12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Top O Hill Terrace Museum
Arlington Baptist College
3001 W. Division Street, Arlington, Texas
Cruise back in time as we revisit history! See vintage automobiles, tour the historic grounds, see artifacts not often on
display, visit the secret escape tunnel and hear about Top O' Hill Terrace casino's gangster-related past as well as the
amazing tale of its transformation into a seminary. The Tea Garden once hosted elegant parties for the rich, the
famous and the infamousenjoy light refreshments there and be entertained by Dance Theatre of Arlington, Standing
Room Only and My Way actors from Theatre Arlington, the Adlee H. Trezevant Memorial Choir from historic I. M.
Terrell High School, and the musical group Just Jazz.
Hear stories from local historians and authors about Tarrant County's colorful past:
12:30 pm
Jim Gatewood
Gangsters, Gamblers & Oil Men at Top O Hill Terrace
1:15 pm
Dr. Weldon Cannon
Bedford Reunion: Finding the Way Home
2:00 pm
Dr. Rick Selcer
Fighting Sin from the Pulpit:
The Ministers vs. the Vice Kings in Tarrant County
2:45 pm
Brad Patterson
The Bankhead Highway in Texas
3:30 pm
Drew Sanders
The Garden of Eden: The Story of a Freedmens Community in Texas
4:15 pm
Public Service Seminar Refuse to Be a Victim
5:00 pm
O. K. Carter
Sometimes Lucky, Sometimes SmartBut Always in the Metroplex Middle:
Tipping Points for Arlington
5:45 pm
Martha May Martin
Arlington Downs & the W. T. Waggoner Legacy
& Geraldine Mills
Guests are invited to participate in the Historical Character Costume Contest (3:30pm) and possibly win a
prize! Visitors will also be able to purchase books, videos and other Top O' Hill Terrace and Bankhead Highway
memorabilia as well as several offerings from our guest speakers and noted historians.
The Bankhead Highway was the first transcontinental highway, begun in 1916 and completed in 1922. It follows 850
miles of highway through Texas and follows Arlingtons Division Street. Top O Hill Terrace was a key destination
along the Bankhead Highway in its heyday, operating as an illegal casino and nightclub. A secret place that thrived
during prohibition, it was a favorite target of firebrand preacher Reverend J. Frank Norris who built a reputation by
accompanying law enforcement on surprise raids.
During these raids, gamblers were warned from the gatehouse and would rush from the casino through a secret tunnel
while gaming equipment was swept away into hidden compartments in the walls. Upon arriving on the scene, deputies
were greeted by the sight of ladies and gentlemen attending a genteel event in the Tea Garden with no sign of illegal
activity. One final raid shuttered the place in 1947.
Rev. Norris died in 1952, and in an ironic twist of fate, the institution he founded known today as Arlington Baptist
College acquired the foreclosed property in 1956 and relocated from Fort Worth.
Tickets are $25 and all proceeds benefit structural repairs at the historic location. To purchase tickets, please visit
http://www.eventbrite.com/o/top-o-hill-terrace-museum-6031920937

This project is funded in part by a grant from

the Arlington Cultural Tourism Council