DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Top O' Hill Terrace has to say — and friend, this one earns every word. Now picture the early 1920s, out along the Bankhead Highway in what would become Tarrant County's most complicated piece of real estate. A woman named Beulah Adams Marshall bought land there and opened a tea room — hosting teas, serving dinners, drawing in patrons from Dallas and Fort Worth.
Respectable. Civilized. The kind of place you'd bring your mother.
Then, in 1926, Fred and Mary Browning purchased the property. And shortly after that, things got considerably more interesting. The Brownings began converting the facilities into a casino.
Not just rearranging the furniture, mind you — they added an escape tunnel and a secret room specifically for hiding gambling paraphernalia during raids. They called it Top O' Hill Terrace, and the place became popular with gamblers and visitors alike, many of whom were apparently just there for the view and had no idea what was humming along underneath the social niceties. The restaurant operated as a legitimate business.
The tea garden — which still exists today — operated as a legitimate business. And alongside those, a brothel and a full casino, the whole operation benefiting from the proximity of the Arlington Downs racetrack nearby. The facilities even included a horse barn and a private stable for Browning's prized stud, Royal Ford, purchased from none other than W.T.
Waggoner — oilman and owner of Arlington Downs himself. High society and low dealings, sharin' the same address. Now, every good story about sin needs its righteous counterweight, and Top O' Hill Terrace had one.
His name was Dr. J. Frank Norris, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Worth, and the man was outspoken in the way that thunderstorms are outspoken.
A conservative, an ardent proponent of Prohibition and gambling reform, and co-founder of the fundamental Baptist Bible Institute — an institution that would later be known as Bible Baptist Seminary and later still as Arlington Baptist College. Norris had opinions about a great many things, and one of his targets was Top O' Hill Terrace. He reportedly vowed that one day he would own the place.
That is the kind of vow that sounds like theater — until history decides to take it seriously. Before we get to that, though, there's 1947 to reckon with. That's the year Texas Ranger Captain M.T.
Gonzaullas — known as Lone Wolf — led a raid on Top O' Hill and caught the gambling operation in full swing. Not winding down. Not tucking itself away.
Full swing. The tunnel and the secret room had run out of luck. Fred Browning died in 1953.
J. Frank Norris had died the year before, in 1952. Neither man lived to see what came next.
In late 1956, under the leadership of Earl K. Oldham, the Bible Baptist Seminary purchased the property and relocated there — fulfilling, the marker says plainly, Norris' promise. The man who vowed to own the casino never saw the deed change hands, but the institution he co-founded showed up and collected.
Today, Arlington Baptist College continues to use the site. Many of the original structures remain standing. And on the grounds where gamblers once ducked through escape tunnels, there stands a statue of Dr.
J. Frank Norris — crafted by noted sculptor Pompeo Coppini. The tea garden is still there too.
Beulah Adams Marshall would probably recognize it. Everything else, though — that's a whole different story than the one she started.
What the marker says
Top O' Hill Terrace Beulah Adams Marshall bought land here along the Bankhead Highway in the early 1920s and opened a tea room, hosting teas and serving dinners to Dallas and Fort Worth patrons. In 1926, 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. Top O' Hill Terrace facilities included a horse barn and a private stable for Browning's prized stud, Royal Ford, purchased from oilman and Arlington Downs owner W.T. Waggoner. Contemporary to the Top O' Hill heyday was the outspoken Dr. J. Frank Norris (d. 1952), longtime pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Worth. The conservative Norris, co-founder of fundamental Baptist Bible Institute, later known as Bible Baptist Seminary and later as the Arlington Baptist College, was an ardent proponent of Prohibition and gambling reform. One of his targets was Top O' Hill Terrace, which he reportedly vowed one day to own. In 1947, Texas Ranger Captain M.T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas led a raid on Top O' Hill, catching the gambling operation in full swing. In late 1956, under the leadership of Earl K. Oldham, the Bible Baptist Seminary bought the property and relocated here, fulfilling Norris' promise, although neither he nor Browning (d. 1953) had lived to see it. Today, the Arlington Baptist College continues to use the site, which retains many of its original structures and features a statue of Norris by noted sculptor Pompeo Coppini. (2003)