Brady Heights Historic District contains some two hundred fifty architecturally or historically significant buildings. The name "Brady Heights" refers to the Brady Heights subdivision which, with the Burgess Hills subdivision, comprises the Brady Heights Historic District.
On the north, Marshall Street marks a distinct change in the scale and age of the housing stock. The eastern boundary is defined by a change in land use from residential to mixed commercial and residential uses. The Inner Dispersal Loop on the south and the Osage Expressway right-of-way on the west are strong physical and visual boundaries.
Primarily residential in character, the Brady Heights Historic District contains five churches and two commercial structures built during the 1920's. Architectural styles in Brady Heights are as varied as the people who built them. Styles include small one- and two-story Bungalows (some with Victorian trim and shingle ornamentation), large two-story houses, Dutch Colonials, Neoclassics, and Prairie styles. Several of the larger homes on Denver Avenue reflect the eclectic taste of the period. This blending of a variety of architectural styles gives the street its character and contrasts with the more uniform streetscapes of later subdivisions. Smaller cottage and bungalow styles characterize Cheyenne Avenue.
Significance
From territorial days until the 1920's, Brady Heights was an important portion of the then-fashionable north side. Known as the "Silk Stocking District," the area was home to many Tulsans who were active in the city's growth and development in the 1910's and 1920's. These included Tate Brady, merchant and entrepreneur for whom the Brady Heights Historic District was named; J.S. Hopping, founder of the Fourth National Bank with his neighbor and brother-in-law Thomas Hartman; G.V. Vandever, one of the brothers who started Tulsa's oldest extant department store; George Winkler, a leading local architect (Mayo Hotel, Trinity Episcopal Church); I.S. Mincks, original owner of the Minks-Adams Hotel (National Register 11-7-78); and other important community leaders including Judge Gubser, Postmaster Crutchenfield, and Zenia Loughton, photographer.
Brady Heights, developed after the Red Fork oil strike in 1901 reflected the more settled character of the former raw frontier town. Brady Heights set the architectural standard for other early middle- and upper-class Tulsa residential developments. Although later neighborhoods boasted larger, more expensive homes; in many cases these houses had identical floor plans and differing facades. By contrast, Brady Heights offered a striking variety of styles including a 1910 Prairie house, a 1920 Neoclassic mansion, and two Dutch Colonial houses.
Tulsa, incorporated in 1898, has always equated progress with new construction. Thus, few pre-1920 Tulsa neighborhoods remain. None is as intact as the Brady Heights Historic District.
References
Tulsa World; 27 December 1962, 18 Jan. 1973.
Tulsa Tribune; 27 September 1978, "Tate Brady: Tulsa's first 'Mr. Tulsa.'"
History of the State of Oklahoma, 1909, Vol. II, p.46.
Osage Route Environmental Impact Statement Workbook, Prepared for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
† Adapted from: Tamara Coombs and Michael Stewart, Tulsa Historic Preservation Office, Brady Heights Historic District, Tulsa, OK, nomination document, 1979, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.
