Entry No. 60 — the Dallas file — filed under: underground-history
Top O' Hill Terrace
“Before Vegas had Vegas, North Texas had Top O' Hill”
Before Vegas had Vegas, North Texas had Top O' Hill — a lavish 1930s casino that hid behind a perfectly respectable tearoom facade, complete with chicken-fried steak luncheons and bridal showers upstairs while Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, and John Wayne gambled in the basement below. Entry required navigating a 900-foot vetted driveway, an iron gate checkpoint, and a password before you even reached the chips. When Texas Rangers finally showed up, a buzzer signaled the house, gamblers vanished through underground escape tunnels into the wooded hillside, and the slot machines disappeared before anyone could say "raid." The whole operation ran for nearly two decades until the Rangers cracked it in 1947 — and then a Baptist preacher who'd long prophesied its doom bought the property in 1956, turning the casino into Arlington Baptist University, which still sits atop the hill today.
The story
In 1926, Fred and Mary Browning established a polite roadside tearoom along the transcontinental Bankhead Highway in Arlington. To passing motorists, it was a respectable stop for chicken-fried steak luncheons and bridal showers. But to the oil tycoons, Hollywood stars, and high-stakes gamblers who navigated the iron gate at the end of a 900-foot driveway—after clearing a checkpoint lookout and delivering a password—it was the most audacious illegal casino in Texas, operating decades before Las Vegas ever found its footing.
Behind the tearoom decor lay a sprawling subterranean gambling parlor where Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, and John Wayne dropped fortunes at roulette and craps. Protecting the vice required serious architectural paranoia. Whenever Texas Rangers turned onto W Division Street, lookouts triggered a buzzer system. Before law enforcement reached the house, slot machines slid behind secret wall panels, gaming tables flipped into benign furniture, and gamblers slipped down trapdoors into 900 feet of escape tunnels that dumped them into the surrounding woods. For nearly twenty years, the Rangers raided the hilltop only to find tea drinkers until they finally caught the operation mid-roll in 1947.
The ultimate plot twist came nine years later. In 1956, a Baptist preacher who had spent years publicly preaching against the hill's vice purchased the entire raid-battered property. He converted the speakeasy and secret tunnels into Arlington Baptist University, which still sits atop the hill today.
What it's like
Pulling up to 3001 W Division Street feels confusing at first—you are turning onto a quiet, working Christian college campus rather than a hidden den of sin. You will park for free on the grounds and join docent Vickie Bryant, who runs the official by-appointment tours for a $10 donation per person. Over two hours, you'll walk the original grounds, step into the dark, narrow escape tunnels where celebrity gamblers once scrambled to evade the law, and hear how the Browning operation outsmarted raids for two decades. Closed-toe shoes are essential for the uneven underground paths, and you'll want to schedule your reservation weeks ahead since tour availability is managed by a tiny team.
The move: Book one of Vickie Bryant's by-appointment guided tours (just $10 donation per person) — you'll spend two hours walking the original grounds, ducking into the escape tunnels, and hearing how the most audacious illegal casino in Texas hid in plain sight for twenty years.
📍 Before you go Don't look for a standalone museum: the site sits on the working Arlington Baptist University campus off W Division Street, so you'll drive onto a college to reach it, with free parking on the grounds. Visits are by-appointment only and effectively scheduled by one person, so arrange your spot well in advance rather than dropping by. Because the route covers outdoor grounds and the underground tunnels, wear closed, comfortable shoes and aim for spring or fall over brutal Texas summer heat. You're squarely between Dallas and Fort Worth in Arlington's entertainment district, so it pairs easily with AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field, or Six Flags the same day.
- 📍 Arlington (between Dallas and Fort Worth)
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 3001 W Division St, Arlington, TX 76012
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Taipo / Taipo Behind the Door — Keep the hidden-door theme going three miles down Division Street by grabbing Nepalese momos before stepping through the back entrance into a quiet speakeasy.
- Tokyo Station DFW — Trade 1930s subterranean casino history for early-2000s Japanese arcade cabinets just ten minutes away in Arlington.
- The Velvet Coffin — Head seven miles north to Richland Hills to swap mobster escape routes for taxidermy, bones, and wet specimens in a gothic oddities shop.
Good to know
Do I need a reservation to visit Top O' Hill Terrace?
Yes. Visits are strictly by-appointment only and cannot be done as a walk-in. Tours are booked in advance with host Vickie Bryant for a $10 donation per person.
Is there an active speakeasy bar or casino on the property?
No. The casino was permanently raided and shut down in 1947, and the property was bought in 1956 to become Arlington Baptist University. The tour is a historic walk through preserved structures and tunnels, not an active bar.
What should I wear for the tour?
Wear sturdy, closed-toe walking shoes. You will be walking across outdoor campus grounds and ducking into narrow, damp, unpaved underground escape tunnels.
Where do I park when I arrive?
You park directly on the Arlington Baptist University campus grounds at 3001 W Division St, where parking is free for tour guests.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Atlas Obscura · Tripadvisor · historicfortworth.org · tshaonline.org
last checked: 2026-06-09