Case Manager
KRISTEN
My experiences at the Nat Ballroom were very intriguing. I enjoyed doing the research about the history and it was easy to relate to the actual building. I could actually visualize the dancers on the dance floor and people eating at the snack bar.
My strongest feeling was of a sudden rush of sadness in the entrance to the Nat where the patrons came in. It was not a sadness of tragedy but a sadness of spirits that rejoiced and celebrated there at one time and didn’t want that happiness to end. At one time, The Nat was a meeting place for friends, families, boyfriends, future husbands and wives, and military soldiers. I think there are also some residual effects left behind.
I thought that I would have scared feelings in the basement and the old swimming pool, but it was quite to the contrary. The feelings in the swimming pool were quiet pleasant.
In the bookstore, I felt something in the back corner by some chairs, and with the dowsing rods, asked if there was someone there and they replied yes. Later in that corner, Kathy, Marcia, and myself experimented with the pendulum and the spirit was playful with its replies and hesitant to speak to us.
The main feeling to me of the entire Nat was that the resident spirits were just as curious about us as we were about them. I am hoping to go back and maybe they will be more trusting and know that we mean them no harm. The place is so big that there is so much more we can learn from it.
July 1922 The Amarillo Natatorium Company opened a new enclosed open air swimming pool with spending cost approximately $25,000. At that time, it was considered a good distance from town and it was located on pavement and Near Street Car Line. It was owned by an ex-wrestler and was a Guy Carlander designed swimming pool. 1923 The Natatorium pool was covered. The roof was supported by massive beams made by five 2 X 12’s bolted together. September 13, 1926 J.D. Tucker purchased the pool and converted it into a dance palace now known as the "Nat". The dance floor was a 10,000 square foot maple hard-wood dance floor The first night patrons were treated to a free night of dancing to the music of Ell Hoover and His Eleven Artists. On succeeding nights each dance cost 5 cents. Access to the floor was by ticket only, the floor cleared after each dance. During the 20s and 30s, it was considered one of the largest, finest ballrooms in the southwest. 1926-1950 Dances were held every Christmas afternoon. It was a time to reunite with family and friends. 1929 When money became tighter as the crash of 1929 approached, different enticements were employed to attract patrons to the night spot. New cars, furnished by local automobile dealers, Navajo blankets, Chinese slippers, hosier, records and cash in balloons were given away to boost attendance. 1932 Campaign fund raising project for Franklin D. Roosevelt was held at the "Nat". 1932-1942 H.D. Badger owned the "Nat". He was a rancher with considerable acreage in New Mexico and Texas, later became a tycoon in the ice making business. It was at this time that the fortress like façade was added to the building. 1935 The Nat Café building was attached to the north elevation to provide an entrance to the dance area from Route 66. The "Nat" became a dine and dance palace after dinner items were introduced to the bill of fare. 1937 Carlton Scales of Amarillo had a dance band at the "Nat". He said that the floor was roped off and the lads purchased a spool of ticket. At its peak there was a supper club on the second floor for Sunday night gatherings of the elite. Once the "Nat" had a staff of 40 people. 1938 The most traveled highway between Chicago and the West Coast-Route 66-opened for business. The paved "mother road" snaked its way through Amarillo’s San Jacinto district, passing within a few feet of the "Nat’s" front door. 1939 Bud Wingender came to Amarillo from Omaha, Neb. He met Pauline Todd at the "Nat" one night. They began dating and fell in love. He asked her to marry him and she accepted. Wingender returned to Omaha and it was a long time before he heard from Pauline again. An accident at the Nat after Wingender had returned home to Omaha injured Pauline, and during the time of no correspondence he lost track of his girlfriend. Pauline had written him years later (1943) after he left Amarillo. She then told of the accident at the "Nat" in which the big crystal chandelier had fallen and hit her and left her blind. She said the accident had left her blind, that she did not think he would want a blind woman for a wife. By the time he received that letter, he had married another girl. Her sight returned. Mid-40s Gordon Creamer played with 20 different bands at the "Nat" said that it was most playful when running 7 nights a week. 1941 Bookings peaked and management enjoyed unparallel success. Russ Morgan opened the year with engagement in February. Bob Wills and his western swing band took center stage for one of his many date of the "Nat". Pearl Harbor Bombed Dr. W.A. Maddox, an Amarillo dentist, businessman, rancher and master leather craftsman, bought the "Nat". The "Nat" originated as a graceful ingénue of wholesome pursuit but her character was toughened during World War II. World War II Loss of personnel and the sobering mood of the war dulled America’s appetite for the inferior sounds of ravaged bands. Gas shortages made travel difficult. Business went down hill but still hung on. 1945 Government threatened to close all night clubs because of "absenteeism among war workers was high due to excessive night club activity". It did not happen though. 1950-1960 Little Richard and Roy Orbison ushered in the rock ‘n roll era at the "Nat". August 23, 1956 Little Richard performed at the "Nat" and was arrested and charged with lewdness-"conduct that was offensive to public decency"-resisting arrest and vagrancy. After spending the night in jail, Little Richard and the three members of his band were fined $1.00 each and courts costs on the reduced charge of disturbing the peace. October 19, 1956 The State Liquor Control Board permanently revoked the beer-selling license of the "Nat Ballroom" at 608 Georgia from operating a dance hall without a permit. January 31, 1958 A two year battle between the City of Amarillo and Dr. W.A. Maddox over operation of the "Nat" Ballroom appeared to be headed for a showdown. He continues to infrequently use the building for dances, even though the city refused to issue a dance hall permit claiming the structure is a fire hazard. However, the city has been unable to close the ballroom. February 15, 1958 Maddox was found not guilty by a jury in Corporation Court where he was being charged in connection with a dance held New Year’s Eve. It was the third time in recent months that the city had filed charges against Maddox for holding dances at the "Nat" without a permit. Earlier cases were dismissed on appeal in County Court-At-Law. The city is charging that the structure is a fire hazard and has refused to grant Maddox a permit. 1960 "Nat" closed to dancing public. 1970s The "Nat" reopened and featured what today is known as Tejano music. Little Joe, Johnny Canales and Carlos Guzman played there. 1970s Ike and Tina Turner Review drew a crowd of 1,800. 1994 Placed in the National Register of Historic places. 1995 Recorded Texas Historical Landmark 1996 All-night vigil occurred where about 20 people were stationed all around the building with video cameras, tape recorders, and nighttime vision binoculars. One woman with a sketch pad drew pictures of children she saw hanging around on the old drugstore soda fountain situated on the dance floor. Another report revealed that at some time the cameras shut off mysteriously, and a recording obtained sounds of a drum playing solo in the background and a woman singing. December 10, 1996 Amarillo Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zoning change that allows the "Nat" to return to days when big-band music filled the halls. June 1, 1999 Mrs. W.A. Maddox sold the "Nat" to Jamie and Mike Cavins opened the "Nat" as a tea room, antique mall and museum after renovation project. They preserved bits and pieces of the multi-color canopies, bandstands, booths, tables, and the few remaining panels of deco art. 2003-present Jim and Nell Griffin own the "Nat" and bought it from Elkins and Baker and turned it into a bookstore. Their sons currently run the bookstore and book events. Fun Facts: Every Friday night was "Fraternity night". On Saturday nights, the youths mostly went to the Paramount theater and the Nat was relinquished to adults and the Jitney dances. Stag shows featured Abe Lyman, Cab Colloway and other big name entertainers. New Year’s Eve During Dr. Maddox’s owning the "Nat" the Soldiers didn’t want to go home at midnight as per city regulation, in honest protest they three chairs and bottles out the windows, jerked checkered tables cloth off an upset tables. Seven barrels of glass were picked up the next day. Legends One situation tells of an owner who would open the building and find the furniture rearranged during the night. Another story involves people seeing a ghostly o=woman flitting around the building in a white dress with a red stain on the bodice. Supposedly, someone spilled a glass of red wine on the dress and she was having such a good time she never left. Some patrons remember seeing an apparition of a well-dressed elderly couple gliding around the floor when dances were in progress.
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