Brady District

[SXSW]

A lot has been mentioned lately of turning the Brady District into a hub for arts, music, and entertainment.  There are already two historic, and nationally significant, music venues in Cain's and the Brady Theater and a collection of restaurants (Caz's, Spaghetti Warehouse, Mexicali, etc.), a few bars (Soundpony, The Majestic, Deadtown Tavern, etc.), a coffee shop (Gypsy), several art galleries and little shops, and a few older buildings turned into loft apartments.  New developments include the ballpark and potential mixed-use development around it, the John Hope Franklin Park, the reconstruction of the Boulder bridge, a music museum next to Cain's, the Matthews Warehouse, and now the Oklahoma Pop museum. 

Assuming these developments all go through, what else should be added to this area to really make it stand out?  What other improvements would you want to see?  Personally I would want to see the north leg of the IDL addressed in some way.  I know they are currently resurfacing it but they are doing nothing for aesthetics, and it continues to be barrier between Brady Heights and OSU-Tulsa and the rest of the district.  I would say they should just get rid of it completely but that's probably unrealistic and burying it is also most likely prohibitively expensive.  Increased development and private investment could possibly make it happen though. 

[RecycleMichael]

A walk-up Sonic...

[TURobY]

More things open on weekend days. I biked down there last Saturday and was disappointed that most of the shops were closed. There still isn't enough to do there to keep me in the area during the day.

[T-TownMike]

I would say a Bookstore would be a good thing. There needs to be some retail sprinkled in and bookstores draw in alot of people. I would also say the more entertainment, the better. A bowling alley could be a cool draw. More restaurants would be a good thing. How about a grocery store possibly? How about batting cages near the ballpark? How about horse-drawn carriage rides?

[FOTD]

It's working in Oakland, Vancouver, and would work here....yes, you've heard it before from this devil!

[perspicuity85]

How about apartment-style student housing for OSU-Tulsa students?  I'm thinking similar to the new TU student apartments, only more urban in nature-- perhaps use red brick to match the area.

[OurTulsa]

Relocate the Comedy Club - Loony Bin to the Brady District.

How about the Nightingale Theater in the Brady.

I like the Bookstore idea...

How about a movie theater...would make dinner and a movie a little more interesting than our current options of driving between destinations.

outdoor cafe's.

Dignified streets.  Create a public realm of which all of these artistic/cultural/public facilities can be proud.  Create streets that are as unique as the places they will connect.  Make them comfortable to be in...which doesn't translate into 'comfortable to drive in'.  Great streets typically have a consistent street walls with plenty of fenestration (windows, articulated points of entry), shade trees (important in our climate), generous walking spaces, proper and attractive street lighting, street furniture (unique seating and such), trash cans, information kiosks/maps, limited car penetration (few curb cuts), plenty of spaces in which to stop and watch the public, water...I'm sure I'm forgetting other elements.

How about a public market hall?  Everytime I go I always think the Soulard Market in St. Louis would be so interesting in Tulsa.  Relocate the Saturday Farmers Market to a permanent structure in the Brady.  The Brady Street Market?

How about Langdon or some other agency open a Media Center.
 
How about TulsaNow establish a permanent home for urban advocacy like the SF Planning and Urban Research Association.  http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3502    I know, with all the money that I've donated and all...ok, join forces with Sustainable Tulsa et others.

[TheArtist]

Yes the Brady District and Downtown are still dead as a doornail during the daytime hours. Had a friend visiting from DC a couple weeks ago. And the Blue Dome area is still quite barren really.

We sit here and get excited about this or that place opening, or possibly being built and coming along, and it can all seem exciting from that perspective.  But when I took a friend down there and saw everything from a "person seeing it for the first time" perspective.... well, I found it a bit disconcerting, and eye opening really. We have made progress, but still have a Looooooooooong way to go. The reality was that there were only one or two things open, then lots of parking lots, closed buildings, nobody around, hot sun and some leaves and trash blowing down the street. Welcome to Tulsas Brady Arts District! Wooo Hooo!

And even downtown during the day is dead quiet. I was working on the mural during the day, during and right after work hours. And that downtown is still dead even during work hours. You have a little flurry of meager activity during lunch hour, but even during the times like right before work and after when you would expect it to be busy with people entering and leaving downtown, its not busy at all. (I guess people who work in say the BOK Tower must slip out the back door or through some sky bridge to the parking garages to their cars, then slip out some back alley to the suburbs,,,, cause I dont see any street or foot traffic right before and after work lol. Same for other buildings apparently)   There was a guy who stopped to ask me a couple questions. He was an artist there to set up a booth for Mayfest. It was right after work around 6. Asked me where there was a place to eat other than the hotel. I pointed out El Guapos and the stuff in the Blue Dome. He said he had noticed that earlier. He looked at me and said, "There is nothing in this area?" pointing to the main part of downtown. I said, not that I know of, the Arbys might be open. There wasnt but perhaps one other peoprson in sight. And he then said in a really perterbed voice. "And THIS.... is your Downtown?!" And he stormed off, footsteps echoing off really tall empty buildings, temporarily drowning out the sound of crickets.  

Thank goodness things have picked up downtown.  

I think that in order for downtown to become a more vibrant place we need 2 or 3 different types of areas.

1. A shopping/living area or two. The urban neighborhoods with a grocery store and yes a bookstore would be fantastic.

2. An arts district, aka, lots of galleries and shops all in one place that would encourage people from a large area to visit and help support the artists. You need a critical mass of that to get a lively, functioning area. Brady is turning into an arts district, but interestingly enough, not THAT kind of arts district. Hopefully it will. I am thinking along the lines of the Paseo in OKC with a lot of shops all right next to each other with some restaurants mixed in, on both sides of the street. Or around a square or plaza like you would find in Santa Fe. And of course it has to have that artsy, cozy feel that people enjoy.

3. An entertainment district. With yes some bowling and a movie theater.

I like that we are getting the museums. Having 2 or 3 in the Brady District will help tremendously. We desperately need those to have something to do there during most hours of the day.

I think the area around Bartlett square and the East End could be our urban neighborhood areas with people living there, working there (walking to and from work versus vanishing in a parking garage) and shopping/grocery. The Mayo Hotel lofts, The Mayo building, and a few others in the area will be good first steps.

For an arts district like what I have described, some parts of the Brady could be made into such an area. But I get the feeling that, this may not happen. Its going to become a different kind of Arts District. The area around Living Arts has some potential for that kind of thing perhaps. A concentration of quirky artists galleries with living above. Brady to Greenwood seems to be becoming more "big box" entertainment type arts stuff. I would have loved to have seen the park that Kaiser is building have the museum on  one side then on the other 3 have galleries and shops all around. But the KOTV building will keep that type of atmosphere from developing. I dont see it happening towards the Ballpark either. The street up where the Cains is has a lot of potential, but right on that corner opposite Lolas is is a neat building, but has some industrial thing in it. Then a parking lot opposite. What eventually goes in those two spots will really tell the tale on what direction that area takes. We will either create a contiguous group of artists galleries, or we will not.

[patric]

Dignified streets.  Create a public realm of which all of these artistic/cultural/public facilities can be proud.  Create streets that are as unique as the places they will connect.  Make them comfortable to be in...

To make downtown more inviting at night you are going to have to do something about the lighting.
We know that (dont we?) but do the ones holding the purse strings understand that just because a light looks nice in the daytime doesnt mean its worth a crap at night.   Glare is uninviting and uncomfortable.

[patric]

I would have loved to have seen the park that Kaiser is building have the museum on  one side then on the other 3 have galleries and shops all around. But the KOTV building will keep that type of atmosphere from developing.

That's not carved in stone.  The auto dealerships were their bread-and-butter, and their parent company downgraded them to little more than the Tulsa Bureau of an OKC station, so dont look for that building in the immediate future.

[ILUVTulsa]

I would probably frequent a high-end, classy gentlemen's club, offering complete non-smoking in the Brady.

[SXSW]

Good ideas, and while there have been developments and there some exciting new things on the horizon there is still a long ways to go.  It will take the efforts of many visionary people, like those on this board, to make things happen.

Here is a crazy idea that I've always tossed around concerning the Brady District.  Let's say the ballpark spurs some additional development at the east end, the two new museums are built and spur some additional restaurants and retail, some new contemporary apt. buildings are built, and OSU-Tulsa actually builds a few new buildings on those parking lots at its campus.  This creates a new level of energy that Brady hasn't seen before.  At the same time the Gilcrease Loop is finished, making it actually feasible to tear down the north leg of the IDL.  This allows better interaction between what could be a thriving neighborhood in Brady Heights (including plenty of space east of Cheyenne and Boulder to Cincinnati for new homes or apartments to be built with amazing views) and also OSU-Tulsa.  Streets like Easton could be rebuilt and integrated into the street grid, providing a east-west entrance into the university (the remnants of Easton currently goes between Mt. Zion Church and the ATRC, and also from Denver to Main) and there would be seamless connections between the old warehouse district and single family neighborhoods without the Berlin Wall separating them, both physically and mentally.  I know this is highly unlikely but it sure would be nice as rebuilding this leg below grade, like the south leg which doesn't separate the neighborhood, would be very expensive.  It's either live with it or get rid of it and without the Gilcrease Expy. providing an alternative it would never happen...

[Requiemokc]

I would say a movie theatre. It's always a good way to lure more people down to it during the day and night. And if it's located in a district like The Brady, then people will be inclined to buy their tickets and walk around, or eat dinner first.

Just be sure to get a nice theatre. Let's not settle for an AMC.

[we vs us]

What the Brady needs, and what downtown as a whole needs, is people living in it.  That's pretty much it.  I think we'd be surprised at how many problems that would solve.

Edit:  Easier said than done, I know.

[perspicuity85]

What the Brady needs, and what downtown as a whole needs, is people living in it.  That's pretty much it.  I think we'd be surprised at how many problems that would solve.

Edit:  Easier said than done, I know.

You're right, residents are the bottom line.  Nothing will increase foot-traffic, retail, and entertainment activity as fast as residents' demand.  That is why I supported the tax rebates given to residential developers as part of the Vision 2025 plan.

I think the city should do all it can to encourage OSU-Tulsa to implement student housing in the Brady District.  From there, private housing developments would likely spring up throughout the whole area.  I would really like to see OSU-Tulsa become a true urban public university- similar to IUPUI in Indianapolis (http://www.iupui.edu/about/).  IUPUI stands for Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.  The school did not start out much differently than OSU-Tulsa's predecessor, University Center at Tulsa (UCAT).  Today, IUPUI is an urban public university that offers degrees from Indiana Univ. and Purdue Univ.  The school has only been around for 40 years, and now has over 30,000 students.  Another example is the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha, which is probably a more relative example, because Omaha is about the same size as Tulsa.  Nebraska-Omaha has about 15,000 students.

Imagine what students would do for foot-traffic in the Brady District.