# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Tulsa & Suburbs >  Brady District

## dankrutka

I couldn't find a thread on the Brady District in Tulsa. Please merge if there is one. 

Anyway, another great development for the Brady District:  Downtown Continues To Grow With Brady District Development - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

 If you haven't visited the district recently it really is one of the best, if not the best, urban districts in the state.

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## Urbanized

Hoping this doesn't turn into a hater thread. You're right about Brady District being a great place, and it has been developing extremely quickly over the past few years, really the last decade. Tons of infill and quality development. Everyone in OKC owes themselves a trip up there. Stay in the new Fairfield, hang out in Guthrie Green, go to a show at Brady or Cain's. It's got a ton of great existing fabric, ongoing development, and even more potential.

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## Swake

A few blocks away the Gates Hardware building across the street from Oneok Field is under construction as well and will have a brewpub from the Marshall Brewing Company  and another unnamed restaurant on the first floor and be home to the new headquarters for KSQ Architects above.

Draw me a beer: Architecture firm KSQ to move headquarters above planned brew pub near ONEOK Field - Tulsa World: Real Estate

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## bchris02

I was pretty impressed by the Brady district when I went to Tulsa a few weeks ago.  Comparing the Brady district to Bricktown is a great example of how the small details really enhance the urban experience in a district and how seas of surface parking work against it.  Bricktown is larger and offers a lot more but the Brady simply feels nicer because of the attention to detail and street/building interaction.   I think Campus Corner is the best urban district in the state and blows away the Brady district.

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## Swake

> I couldn't find a thread on the Brady District in Tulsa. Please merge if there is one. 
> 
> Anyway, another great development for the Brady District:  Downtown Continues To Grow With Brady District Development - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |
> 
>  If you haven't visited the district recently it really is one of the best, if not the best, urban districts in the state.


An image of the project that will have 30 apartments, a brewery, a bakery and a bar

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## warreng88

New chapter: Groups come together for renovation, bookstore in Brady Arts District

By: Molly M. Fleming  The Journal Record	March 9, 2016

TULSA – Three organizations are working to fill a gap in the Brady Arts District.

Brady Arts District Business Association President Bob Fleischman said the area near the BOK Center needs more retail. Tulsa Literary Coalition Executive Director Cindy Hulsey said the nonprofit organization’s leadership thought there was a lack of literary arts.

Hulsey said the George Kaiser Family Foundation wanted a bookstore in an empty building it owns on E. Archer Street, between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Detroit Avenue.

The 72,000-square foot building is undergoing a $30 million renovation into a retail center, with 14 second-floor apartments and 35 artist studio spaces.

The anchor retail tenant will be the literary coalition’s Magic City Books. The for-profit bookstore will operate as the endowment fund for the coalition. The nonprofit has raised $200,000 toward its $1 million goal to open the store.

“(The $1 million) will cover our startup costs as well as sustain us until the bookstore becomes profitable,” Hulsey said.

The 3,600-square-foot store will sell fiction and nonfiction adult titles, matching the group’s mission to work with adults and older teenagers. It will also have a cafe that sells coffee, tea, wine, beer and snacks.

“There’s really kind of a gap when it comes to adults and literary pursuit,” she said.

People can buy books, as well as discuss them during events. The organization is working with Booksmart Tulsa to host writer discussions.

Booksmart Tulsa founder Jeff Martin is the literary coalition’s board president.

“(The coalition) wants to develop plans to work with other organizations and offer a wide array of services to book groups already out in the community,” Hulsey said.

The bookstore’s announced neighbors are Glacier Chocolates and Holy Mountain Records, with others to fill the space as well.

Lilly Architects Principal Chris Lilly designed the renovation to the 1920s-era building. He used a 3-D scanner to look at the structure’s bones and see what was hiding behind the brick walls. The scanner gives more exact measurements for the facility’s size as well.

The building’s exterior is currently all white, with covered windows. Lilly’s plans call for stripping the exterior down to the brick and reopening the windows. Construction starts this month and the facility is expected to open in early 2017.

Lilly frequently works on old building renovations. He said he enjoys the work because there are not a lot of original downtown buildings remaining.

“(The buildings) were torn down for parking lots or new buildings,” he said. “To be able to play a part in the few buildings we have left is really gratifying work.”

Once Lilly’s work is complete and the building comes back to life, Fleischman said the new retail strip will help people make a day in the district.

“We’re going to have more daytime activities than we do right now,” he said.

Fleischman is co-owner of Chrysalis Salon & Spa in the district. He said the retail building will improve the livability of the neighborhood. He said it’s a continuation of more than $200 million invested in the last 15 years within the area by business owners.

“I’m excited about the concept,” he said. “It’s definitely a world-class operation that’s coming into the district.”

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## Swake

> New chapter: Groups come together for renovation, bookstore in Brady Arts District
> 
> By: Molly M. Fleming  The Journal Record	March 9, 2016
> 
> TULSA  Three organizations are working to fill a gap in the Brady Arts District.
> 
> Brady Arts District Business Association President Bob Fleischman said the area near the BOK Center needs more retail. Tulsa Literary Coalition Executive Director Cindy Hulsey said the nonprofit organizations leadership thought there was a lack of literary arts.
> 
> Hulsey said the George Kaiser Family Foundation wanted a bookstore in an empty building it owns on E. Archer Street, between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Detroit Avenue.
> ...


Before:


and after:

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## Plutonic Panda

Very pleased to see they will be doing away with those power lines!

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## Swake

> Very pleased to see they will be doing away with those power lines!


I hope so, but I wouldn't assume it based on this rendering of the building.

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## Ross MacLochness

Tulsa is considering changing the name of Brady Arts District and the Tulsa World is hosting a vote on what the next name should be.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local...35fdd3d73.html

My Vote goes to Districty McDistrictface...

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## Jake

"Racism is Bad District."

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## HangryHippo

Why the name change?

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## RodH

> Why the name change?


Brady was a leader of the Tulsa race riot.

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## HangryHippo

> Brady was a leader of the Tulsa race riot.


Thanks. Had no idea.

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## Eric

> Brady was a leader of the Tulsa race riot.


Allegedly

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## Colbafone

> Allegedly


Allegedly? If by "allegedly" you mean sure as hell was, you're dead on. Brady was a nasty POS. 


http://thislandpress.com/2012/04/18/...tle-greenwood/

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## Eric

> Allegedly? If by "allegedly" you mean sure as hell was, you're dead on. Brady was a nasty POS. 
> 
> 
> http://thislandpress.com/2012/04/18/...tle-greenwood/


First of all, I think you may have mis-read. Nowhere in Chapman's piece does he directly tie Brady to the race riots. It is alleged that he was involved in the taring and feathering of the Industrial Workers of the World defendants. Awful as that is, the two are not linked, in fact they occurred 4 years apart. 

There are conflicting reports. And yes, through a historic lens he is a terrible person, as was nearly every citizen of this country when judged by today's standards. Through any lens what he did in regards to the "Tulsa Outrage" is despicable. However, the world is nuanced. And some that did know him (of color) have quit different opinions of him. 

Whats in a Name: The Legacy of Tate Brady [by Dr. Jeffrey Myers]
As one of the great-grandchildren of W. Tate Brady, I was deeply saddened to learn of his affiliation - direct or indirect - with racist organizations. Although he died long before I was born, we great-grandchildren often heard of his deep affection for "Tulsey Town" and his coining of the term "Tulsa Spirit".

Personally, I have never thought of "Brady" Street simply as a personal tribute to one of Tulsas founders, but rather a reminder of one of the most eventful and "spirited" chapters in the history of the city - with all of its triumphs and tragedies, virtues and vices, successes and failures. To preserve a name - including both the achievements and the shortcomings it represents - serves to convey historical identity.

In some ways, Tate Brady can be said to have been a child of his times. He was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in a young city painfully divided along racial lines. He was a man filled with larger-than-life dreams, as well as inconsistencies. Having joined the Ku Klux Klan as a young man, he later renounced the group, going on to support an anti-Klan gubernatorial candidate for election.

If I am not mistaken, though, he is being judged for one substantiated act of cruelty which, despicable as it is, remains one single act. I am not aware of any evidence of his complicity in other crimes, nor is there convincing evidence linking him to an active role in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. Fortunately, times have changed; needless to say, actions must always be understood and judged in the context of those times. Historical revisionism is sometimes tempting, but often self-serving.

It has been said that Wyatt Tate Brady was known for hiring African Americans to work in his hotel and other businesses. Not long before she died at the age of 104, *Mabel B. Little, a survivor of the Tulsa Race Riot who was once employed by Brady, recalls in her book, Fire on Mount Zion: My Life and History as a Black Woman in America (1990): "Another man, Mr. Tate Brady had good feelings for black people. He hired several black boys as porters. But he told them up front, "Listen, boys: I'm gonna train you so you can get your own businesses someday."*

Ive always liked the fact that this historical street north of Main only bore a surname - and not a first name, thus pointing beyond itself, not only to the larger Brady family - many of whom loved and gave generously of themselves and their gifts to Tulsa, but also to the wider family, named and unnamed, of pioneer-spirited Tulsans. The name Brady invokes that which is unique to Tulsa - not only at its best, but also that which needs to be transformed and redeemed, individually and together.

In a moment of larger vision, W. Tate Brady was once quoted as saying: "Indian and white man, Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant, we worked together side by side, and shoulder to shoulder, and under these conditions, the 'Tulsa Spirit' was born, and has lived, and God grant that it never dies." Though framed in words from another era, this vision would seem to capture the magnanimous, unifying "spirit" of Tulsa - the direction surely intended by the street sign bearing the name "Brady".

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## Pete

> There are conflicting reports. And yes, through a historic lens he is a terrible person, as was nearly every citizen of this country when judged by today's standards.


I strongly disagree with this statement and this is starting to be a catch-all excuse for anyone who did horrific things in the past.

There were many rich and powerful types that exploited the poor, immigrants, the average worker and minorities.  And some were way worse than others.

This idea that everything should be forgiven because "things were different then" is IMO far more dangerous than judging those of previous generations too harshly.

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## Eric

> I strongly disagree with this statement and this is starting to be a catch-all excuse for anyone who did horrific things in the past.
> 
> There were many rich and powerful types that exploited the poor, immigrants, the average worker and minorities.  And some were way worse than others.
> 
> This idea that everything should be forgiven because "things were different then" is IMO far more dangerous than judging those of previous generations too harshly.


Yet, we should forget the good. Got it.

Moving on.

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## Pete

> Yet, we should forget the good. Got it.


I have never seen anyone advocating for forgetting anything that happened in the past.

History is a constant process of researching, learning, reevaluating,  communicating and adjusting.   And by and large, most of our country's early history was written by or for the 'winners' (rich and powerful) and needs a much fuller context.

That is all that is happening on all these fronts.

Unfortunately many don't like long-held beliefs and opinions challenged but this process is extremely important if we are going to talk about and learn from historic figures and events.

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## traxx

I think Marcia, Marcia Marcia Brady Arts District has a nice ring to it.

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## dankrutka

Great comments, Pete. Historical memory is a complicated thing. I've talked to numerous people at the site of Denton's Confederate monument and someone always argues that the monument protestors want to remove the monument want to "get rid of history," which is not true at all. That is my area of study and I would never advocate getting rid of history. In terms of Confederate monuments, I always ask, was this monument erected to mark a historical event or to honor a person? If the former, it generally should stay and be accompanied by plaques, other monuments as needed. But, if the monument was erected 50 years after the Civil War by white supremacist groups or groups with strong ties to them then the purpose is dramatically different. The purpose of those statues were to say, this is who _we_ are as a community and this is what we believe. Many Confederate monuments were erected as the KKK gained influence again, Jim Crow laws dominated, and a clear aim of the monuments was to signal white supremacy to the community. I believe these monuments would be better placed at a museum where they are studied. In Denton, we have a Confederate soldiers monument towering over the most prominent spot on the Square and I just can't imagine being black and having to explain it to my child. (If you're interested in this topic, read David Blight's _Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory_). 

Similarly, in Tulsa, if you want streets named after you that are meant to represent today's society then I think there's a high standard. And as Pete said, not all white men were active KKK members or engaged in violent acts. And, yes, one egregious act can disqualify someone for being honored by a city and soul someone's legacy. I'm not specifically speaking to Tate Brady because I'd have to do more research on him. Even though that was already settled and they've changed the district previously to be named after Civil War photographter Matthew Brady. My point is never to be angry at people the past because we can't change what they did. What we can do is have inclusive conversations about who we are and want to honor today. And, in some cases, I'm glad we're making different decisions than we did 100 years ago.

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