Tantilla's Majestic Grip on Richmond's Scene

The "South's most beautiful ballroom," Tantilla Gardens, at 3817 W. Broad Street, in Richmond, Virginia, was an acoustically treated structure built by the Byrd Theatre Group in 1933. The building stretched a block long, featuring nightly dancing, along with the Nation's greatest dance orchestras. This all took place on the second floor, atop Tiny Town Bowling Alleys, the "South's most modern bowling plant." Tantilla Gardens averaged at $1.50 entry fee per night ($30.00 in today's money) and had a capacity of around 1,800 people. Guests would brown bag their own liquor inside, because of Richmond's 'no liquor by the shot' law. A bar with set ups was provided, along with a dance floor, dividing it from the stage. The ballroom held an enormous number of players throughout its years, including Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Cab Calloway, Rudy Vallee, Dave Brubeck, Harriet Hilliard and Ozzie Nelson, just to name a few.

Tantilla Gardens provided a safe haven for music lovers of the Richmond area. It moved gracefully along with the musical times, having showcased big bands, swing and bebop from the 1930s to the 1950s. In the beginning of the sixties, it housed soul and R&B acts like the Isley Brothers, but by the end of the decade, groups like the Loving Spoonful were the main attraction. The venue also thrived on featuring an enormous slew of local acts, mainly for the college and frat crowds. Tantilla sadly shut its doors in March of 1969, with Babe and the Rhythmaires being the last act to grace the stage. The structure was torn down that same year and became a parking lot to kick off the 1970s, after 36 years of entertainment.

The dance floor of Tantilla had a poetically enchantive way of hatching endless romances, many of which led to marriage and families. Buddy Williams, a clarinetist and arranger for Glenn Miller, met his wife there during a gig, whom he remained with for many years after. While singing at Tantilla, Virginia Dare Massey met her husband and father of her children there. Linda Basset frequented Tantilla Gardens as a teenager, as did her parents, who met each other on the ballroom floor. The stories go on and on about the place having a Cupid-like effect on its guests. It is certainly responsible for a lot of romances and families in the Richmond area. Mark Holmberg jokingly quotes, "So many marriages and babies made there. (Well, not there, but after.)" Perhaps the most famous photo of the establishment is of a couple waltzing towards the entrance, arm-in-arm, as glowing lights from the ballroom's sign illuminate them.

Lost but not forgotten, the ballroom lives on in many memories. One of today's local Richmond acts, Vexine, has a song titled, "Tantilla Gardens," which speaks of the majestic ballroom and its patrons. The lead singer, Sarah Gleason, remembers hearing her grandmother tell her tales of the "rooftop that rolled away." Gleason states, "She was dizzy over the splendor and glamour of the place when she was a young woman in the 1930s." Writing and recording the song helped Gleason feel closer to her late grandparent. Many past patrons of the establishment have saved fliers and posters from the famous dance hall, which they now show their children and grandchildren. The place is important enough in local Richmond minds to carry on the legacy of it, despite the fact that it has been gone for decades.



Thankfully, many other historic venues still thrive in the city of Richmond today. The National Theater has been hosting musical and theater acts since 1923; only taking a brief hiatus for restoration in the 1980s. The Altria Theater (previously known as The Mosque) opened in 1927, and still hosts musical and theater acts today. The Byrd Theater has been screening cinema in Richmond since its inception in 1928, and still continues to play films from both the past and present. The question at hand is what theaters and concert halls built in today's time will maintain as strong of a grip on their guests like Tantilla Gardens and other venues have? Or will A.I. generated, commercial arena shows become the norm, once and for all?

Sources

• VMI Cadet. 12 October, 1936 (Volume 30 #4; originally called "The Keydet").
• "RVA's Tantilla Gardens The Rise and fall of the grandest ballroom in the South." 6 News Richmond. 8 February 2018.
• Kollatz Jr., Harry. "Dance Hall Days." Richmond Magazine. 6 January, 2009.
• Hoffman, Steve. "The Original 'Tantilla.'" Steve Hoffman Music Forums. 8 January, 2006.

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