Proposed Cain’s Ballroom Museum Seeks Funds

A proposed Cain’s Ballroom Music Museum and Historical Society is seeking to raise $2.5 million in funds to create the facility.

The museum will house archives, public exhibitions and a place to experience Cain’s storied history. There will also be interactive exhibits like the “Mini-Cain’s Ballroom”, which will use some of the boards from the original ballroom floor.

The non-profit group behind the museum has established a board of directors and secured land just south of Cain’s Ballroom. Former Tulsa World writer and Oklahoma music historian John Wooley will serve as the museum’s curator.

“When Jim and Alice Rodgers purchased the Cain’s, they were struck by the almost overwhelming amount of history they acquired. Our organization, which is a separate, non-profit organization from the actual Cain’s Ballroom, will endeavor to memorialize those events, the venue, and the impact on Tulsa and the nation.” - Kerry Joels, chairman and executive director of the Cain’s museum.

Built in 1924, Cain’s Ballroom has served as one of the top performance venues to various performers in the United States. The ballroom was known as The Home of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys from 1935 to 1942, with weekly dances, a midnight radio show and a daily noon-hour radio show.

Over the years, the ballroom has played host to performances by the Sex Pistols, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Van Halen, the Police and many more. The ballroom was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in September 2003.

The museum is set to open in 2012.