Gayest neighborhood in Tulsa hosts Home Tour

Tulsa’s Brady Heights Historic District will host its Neighborhood Home Tour on Sunday, September 22, from 11:30 am to 5 pm. The tour includes ten homes and three churches, including the Tate Brady mansion. You heard about the man, now come see his restored home.

Early Tulsa businessman Tate Brady built the distinctive mansion reminiscent of Robert E. Lee’s Arlington home and gave the housing addition the “Brady Heights” name. Most of the homes in Brady Heights were built between 1900 and 1930. The varied home styles in the historic neighborhood range from Folk Victorian and Colonial Revival to Craftsman Bungalow and American Foursquare. The houses of Brady Heights are of a larger scale and of a more complex design than those of the adjacent neighborhoods, featuring bay windows with leaded glass, carriage houses and broad porches that suggest the elegance of earlier days.

Brady Heights is home to a welcoming group of residents who have invested their time, energy and savings to revitalize a neighborhood and create an urban community. It is an authentic walkable neighborhood where people chat from the sidewalk to the porch. The Brady Heights Historic District and the Brady Heights Neighborhood Association (BHNA) were both created in 1980. The neighborhood association is a true residents’ association of home owners and renters. Brady Heights was the first Tulsa neighborhood to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places; in 1999 the area was protected by local Historic Preservation Overlay Zoning.

The Brady Heights Neighborhood Association is an active, highly motivated, and forward thinking group dedicated to the preservation of their existing housing stock, and promoting sensitive development in a neighborhood that is literally a Tulsa treasure. BHNA is committed to restoring and perpetuating the historical character of Brady Heights, as well as improving and beautifying the neighborhood, educating neighbors in residential safety, promoting compliance with zoning codes and improving neighborhood and community relationships. Their commitment and philosophy are expressed in the BHNA credo: “A diverse community, preserving our past and promoting our future.”

The cost of the Neighborhood Home Tour is $9 for individuals and $24 for families. The proceeds benefit cultural and social projects for all ages of the Brady Heights Neighborhood Association. The tour begins at Centenary United Methodist Church, 631 N. Denver Avenue, in Tulsa, Sunday, September 22.

September 16, 2013