NEWS

2026

Brady Standard-Herald: Junta Patriotica of Melvin awards G. Rollie White scholarships

The Austin Chronicle: Day Trips: Texas Dance Halls

The New York Times: A Storied Dallas Concert Hall Makes a Comeback

My San Antonio: Iconic Texas dance hall finally cools off after nearly 150 years

2025

Abilene Reporter News: ‘That lively gaited sworray,’ Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball turns 90

Austin Business Journal: How a local group stepped up to keep a century-old dancehall alive

My San Antonio: Gruene Hall steps up to save flood-torn 100-year-old dance hall

Texas Monthly: Crider’s Reckons With a 100-Year Flood On Its 100th Anniversary

Texas Monthly: An Abilene BBQ Joint Blends Its Dance Hall Roots With a “Mild to Wild” Menu (January 2025)

2024

New Braunfels Herald Zeitung: New Braunfels’ Gruene Hall earns 2024 top venue award from Texas Country Music Association (November 2024)

San Antonio Express News: 5 Texas Hill Country Dance Halls for a boot scootin boogie (August 2024)

Visit Boerne News Flash: Texas Hill Country Dance Halls You Should Know About! (May 2024)

D Magazine: Longhorn Ballroom Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (April 2024)

2023
Southern Living: Gruene Hall Is The Best Dance Hall In Texas (March 2023)

Stantec: Stantec reaches important milestone in documenting, protecting historic Texas dance halls (May 2023)

2022
Sealy News: Swing Into Cat Spring: Texas Dance Hall Preservation’s first in-person event in two years this Saturday (March 2022)

Travel Texas: “Texas Dance Hall Preservation raises over $250,000 for Dance Hall Relief” (December 2020)

Authentic Texan: “Struggling to Survive: Texas Dance Halls Need Your Help!” (December 2020)

Good Day Austin: “Texas Dance Hall Preservation talks about saving Texas dance halls” (Nov. 4, 2020)

The Rivard Report (San Antonio): “Texas Dance Hall Business No Waltz in the Park, But SA Keeps a Few Kicking” (June 6, 2019)

Los Angeles Times (California): “Column One: Texas once had 1,000 dance halls. Now there’s a rush to save those that remain” (June 4, 2019)

Texas Highways: “This June’s Texas Dance Hall Tour Showcases DFW Halls” (May 29, 2019)

NPR Marketplace: “Weddings are helping save historic Texas dance halls” (April 26, 2019)

Texas Monthly: “The Texanist: Are There Any Decent Dance Halls Left?” (April 1, 2019)

KWTX-TV News Ten (Waco): “Declining Numbers Threaten Texas Dance Halls” (February 5, 2019)

Texas Co-Op Power: “Hail the Halls” (February 2019)

Fox 7 (Austin): “Preserving Texas Dance Halls,” May 7, 2018

Houstonia Magazine: “Lone Star Beer Wants to Preserve the Dance Halls of Texas,” March 20, 2018

USA Today: “Dance Hall Days: Texas Preserves a Treasured Tradition,” September 25, 2017

Antique Archaeology: “Texas Dance Halls: Two-Steppin’ Through Time,” June 23, 2017

KVUE.com (ABC-TV Austin, Texas): “Historic Texas Dance Hall Hits the Market on EBay,” June 6, 2017

Preservation Magazine: “How Asleep At The Wheel is Helping Save Texas’ Dance Halls,” April 27, 2017

Revitalization News: “Restoration of Historic 1894 Dance Hall Revives Downtown Schulenberg, Texas,” May 15, 2017

Austin Monthly: “Ray Benson’s on a Mission to Save Texas Dance Halls,” March 13, 2017

Victoria Advocate: “Dance Hall Observes 10th Anniversary of Destructive Fire,” January 13, 2017

Texas Monthly: “How the Two-Step Can Save Historic Texas Dance Halls,” January 2017

National Geographic: “Doing the Texas Shuffle,” January 4, 2016

Houston Chronicle: “Today’s Cypress Squeezes Out Fabled Dance Hall,” January 2, 2016

Dallas Morning News: “Dim the Lights,” December 22, 2015

Focus On The Backroads: “Help Rescue Historic Texas Dance Halls,” November 29, 2015

CBS Morning News: “Could It Be Last Calls for Texas’ Dance Halls?” June 27, 2015

Country Living Magazine: “Save the Texas Dance Halls!” June 16, 2015

KERA-TV, Dallas: “Texas Dance Halls are Dying, Preservation Group Says,” April 6, 2015

Associated Press/Billboard: “Old Texas Dance Halls Decaying, But Some Won’t Let Them Fade,” print, April 6, 2015

Associated Press/Texas Public Radio: “Old Texas Dance Halls Decaying, But Some Won’t Let Them Fade,” audio, April 5, 2015

Texas Public Radio, “Texas Dance Hall Memories: Icons Of Music & Culture Are Fading Away,” August 15, 2014 (originally produced 2009)

My San Antonio: “Texas’ Historic Dance Halls Declining,” August 7, 2014

National Public Radio: “Saving Texas Dance Halls, One Two-Step at a Time,” January 4, 2010

Texas Society of Architects: “Texas Dance Halls,” August 30, 2013

Texas Monthly: “Come Together: A Cultural Tour of Texas Dance Halls,” August 2013

Austin Chronicle: “Day Trips: Historic Dance Nalls in Texas Still Offer a Cold Beer and a Welcoming Dance Floor,” October 1, 2010

Austin Chronicle: “Day Trips: Austin County Boasts the Most Multi-Sided, German-Style Community Halls in Texas,” March 5, 2010

Texas Escapes: “Dance Halls in Texas,” March 11, 2010

Texas Monthly: “Step Right Up,” December 2009

BOOKS

Dance Halls and Last Calls:
A History of Texas Country Music
By Geronimo Treviño, III
Republic of Texas Press

Texas Dance Halls: A Two-Step Circuit
By Gail Folkins
Photographs by J. Marcus Weekley
Texas Tech University Press

Dance Halls of Central Texas

Dance Halls of Central Texas
Kevin Alter, Editor
Photographs by Krista Whitson
University of Texas Press

Dance Ya’ll, Dance
By Kelly Bennett
Illustrated by Terri Murphy
Bright Sky Press

Hardwood. Heritage. Heart.

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Help us back the owners who keep our heritage alive. Join TDHP and make a donation today to help us protect the greatest dance floors on Earth.