Cain's Ballroom, Tulsa, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

Cain's Ballroom is a historic live music venue on North Main Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, best known as the home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and the radio years of Western swing. The building dates to 1924, when it was put up as a garage, and it now anchors the Tulsa Arts District as one of the city's most recognised music landmarks.

The story behind it

The building began in 1924 as a garage on Main Street, built for W. Tate Brady, one of early Tulsa's big builders. It later became the ballroom that made its name in the 1930s, when Bob Wills and his band played here and sent their music out over the radio. That association is why Cain's is still spoken of as a landmark of Western swing and of American roots music.

Brady's story is a complicated one. He was linked to the Ku Klux Klan, and in recent years the city has reckoned with his name on its buildings. The nearby theater that once carried his name has dropped it, which makes this stretch of Main Street a good place to think about how a city decides what to remember.

Cain's also has a ghost story attached. Staff, musicians and paranormal investigators have told of a figure in old Western clothes on the stage, said to be Bob Wills, and of a Lady in Red who dances on the floor or waits at the bar. Nobody has ever identified her. These are legends and personal accounts, not proven fact, but they are part of the building's character.

What to look for

• The street front on North Main Street, where a working music venue still sits among the older commercial buildings of the Arts District.
• The stage area, which the legends say is where a ghostly bandleader still leads an invisible band.
• The dance floor, where the Lady in Red is said to appear, if you are lucky enough to see inside during an event.
• The nearby theater, once named for Tate Brady and now called the Tulsa Theater, which shows how names on this street have changed.

Tips for your visit

• From the sidewalk, ten to fifteen minutes is plenty. If you attend a show, the evening is the time to feel the room as it was meant to be used.
• Cain's is a working venue, so you generally go inside for a concert or event. Check the current event schedule and opening hours before you plan on it.
• Walk the surrounding blocks of the Tulsa Arts District, where the older buildings, murals and other venues sit close together.
• Late afternoon gives softer light for photos of the facade, and the street is calmer before event crowds arrive.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in Tulsa suits a place with so many spirit stories. You reach Cain's on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Tulsa takes you through the same part of the city with a darker mood. You walk between stops, hear about each place as you get there and work out a puzzle in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Lucky Treasure Hunt: The Golden Shamrock in Tulsa is a lighter way to see the streets around the ballroom. It is a self-guided walk where the app tells you about each stop and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.