Tulsa Arts District

About Tulsa Arts District

The Tulsa Arts District welcomes you to "Arrive Early and Stay Late,” which is easy enough with the district’s variety of restaurants, bars, clubs, galleries, retail and service shops, offices and museums. Today's Arts District bustles with daily programming, from free exercise classes on Guthrie Green to art exhibitions and world-class concerts. But things weren’t always this way. Like Tulsa itself, the district has undergone several reinventions over the years. 

The land it now occupies was Tulsa's first commercial district, fueled by oil money and connected by railroad lines. The buildings we now call Cain's Ballroom and the Brady Theater were first built in the early 1900s, as Tate Brady's personal garage and a convention hall, respectively. 

The district took a downward turn in the middle of the 20th century as the railroads declined and Tulsans began moving out to the suburbs. The Brady Theater was redesigned in 1930 by the architect Bruce Goff, and Cain’s opened, refurbished, as a music venue in 1976, but otherwise the district was largely known for its crumbling warehouses. 

In the early 2000s, the area began to revitalize with renewed interest and investments. The district changed its name in 2017 from the Brady Arts District to the Tulsa Arts District after namesake Tate Brady’s membership in the Ku Klux Klan came to light. The renaming remains a part of the larger conversation Tulsans are having as we strive to recognize and reconcile with the ugliest moments from our past. 

These days, the Arts District is a staple of Tulsans' cultural lives. Don't miss the First Friday Art Walk, where art galleries and museums (there are dozens) all offer free admission from 6 to 9 p.m. on the first Friday of the month.