Top o hill terrace photos

You may ask, what is Top 'O Hill Terrace? This illegal gambling establishment operated for more than 20 years, from the s, before finally being shut down in the mids.

Beulah Adams Marshall bought land here along the Bankhead Highway in the early s and opened a tea room, hosting teas and serving dinners to Dallas and Fort Worth patrons. In the late s, Fred and Mary Browning purchased the property and shortly began converting the facilities into a casino, adding an escape tunnel and secret room for hiding the gambling paraphernalia during raids. Known as Top O' Hill Terrace, the popular spot attracted gamblers as well as visitors who were often unaware of the gaming activities. The restaurant, along with the tea garden that exists today, was a legitimate business, operating alongside a brothel as well as the casino, which benefited from the nearby Arlington Downs Racetrack. Contemporary to the Top O' Hill heyday was the outspoken Dr.

Top o hill terrace photos

Most people would regard these items as the trappings of vice. The battlefield: forty-six oak-shaded acres on a hilltop in west Arlington. Frank Norris. And yet it all began so peacefully, even genteelly. On a hilltop with a grand view to the west she built an elegant building of timber and sandstone and opened a teahouse, hosting teas and dinners for ladies of refinement of Dallas and Fort Worth. Women were beginning to drive more in the early s, and the Bankhead Highway connected the teahouse to both cities. Onto the battlefield in stepped Fred C. Browning knew his way around a casino, had lots of contacts both inside and outside the law. He and Browning would meet again. Also note Frank Hamer of Bonnie and Clyde fame.

On a hilltop with a grand view to the west she built an elegant building of timber and sandstone and opened a teahouse, hosting teas and dinners for ladies of refinement of Dallas and Fort Worth. Read All About It Herein are 1.

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If the saga of Top O' Hill Casino becoming Arlington Baptist College were written as fiction, readers would dismiss t as improbable and impossible. The story of a tea room evolving into the gambling hot spot of Texas that was then fought by a fiery gospel preacher, who foretold its transformation into a Baptist seminary and ultimately an accredited Bible college, is stranger than fiction yet absolutely true. The rich and famous enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the mysterious and notoriously infamous, and if large amounts of money were involved, so much the better. Stir in fabulous racehorses, flashy stage and screen stars, singers, dancers, well-known bandleaders and bands, and the tale becomes enthralling. Top O' Hill Casino was taking in over a half a million dollars on weekends in the depth of the Great Depression while Las Vegas was but a duty crossroad in Nevada. Top O' Hill Terrace. When prohibition, gambling and old time religion were on a collision course. Gangster Tour of Texas. Lindsay Baker. During the era of gangsters and organized crime, Texas hosted its fair share of guns and gambling, moonshine and morphine, ransom and robbery.

Top o hill terrace photos

Most people would regard these items as the trappings of vice. The battlefield: forty-six oak-shaded acres on a hilltop in west Arlington. Frank Norris. And yet it all began so peacefully, even genteelly. On a hilltop with a grand view to the west she built an elegant building of timber and sandstone and opened a teahouse, hosting teas and dinners for ladies of refinement of Dallas and Fort Worth. Women were beginning to drive more in the early s, and the Bankhead Highway connected the teahouse to both cities. Onto the battlefield in stepped Fred C. Browning knew his way around a casino, had lots of contacts both inside and outside the law. He and Browning would meet again.

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Tulane says:. Floors had trapdoors; walls hid secret rooms and passageways. On a weekend the parking lot was a showcase of luxury automobiles: Cadillacs, Pierce-Arrows, Cords. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Edwards recalled. On a hilltop with a grand view to the west she built an elegant building of timber and sandstone and opened a teahouse, hosting teas and dinners for ladies of refinement of Dallas and Fort Worth. Oldham, the Bible Baptist Seminary bought the property and relocated here, fulfilling Norris' promise, although neither he nor Browning had lived to see it. Browning along with Pappy Kirkwood was charged with gambling a few times in the early fifties. The fact that it's all true made it even better. Bookmark the permalink. Inserting a knife blade into the outlet opened a door to a hidden closet where gaming equipment—roulette wheels, slot machines, gaming tables—was stowed when the buzzer signaled a raid. The property had only one way in. Browning and his Terrace had many powerful friends. Doris Edwards was the widow of state trooper Ed Wheeler , who was killed by Bonnie and Clyde in The teahouse was moved back over the basement.

Beulah Adams Marshall bought land here along the Bankhead Highway in the early s and opened a tea room, hosting teas and serving dinners to Dallas and Fort Worth patrons. In the late s, Fred and Mary Browning purchased the property and shortly began converting the facilities into a casino, adding an escape tunnel and secret room for hiding the gambling paraphernalia during raids.

According to T. Norris stayed behind as the lawmen went ahead and forced their way into the casino in the basement and confiscated two roulette wheels, two gaming tables, poker chips, and dice. Oldham, the Bible Baptist Seminary bought the property and relocated here, fulfilling Norris' promise, although neither he nor Browning had lived to see it. Bookmark the permalink. After Ed was killed, Harry Hines, the state highway commissioner for whom the Dallas boulevard is named , got Doris a job as a secretary for the Texas Highway Patrol headquarters. Then they slipped into the entrance to the casino, which was at the rear of the building, and were down the stairs and into the gaming room before employees could react. Today, the Arlington Baptist University continues to use the site, which retains many of its original structures and features a statue of Norris by noted Sculptor Pompeo Coppini. Patrons had to show their ID and give the password to be allowed past the guardhouse. As the tour ended, I realized I had just stepped into history. He and Browning would meet again. Previous Handlebar Headers. Jack Poe, who worked at the Terrace for five years as a teenager in the s, recalled that a half-million dollars might change hands on a weekend during racing season. This illegal gambling establishment operated for more than 20 years, from the s, before finally being shut down in the mids. Hometown by Handlebar.