Among other projects, the Kaiser foundation replaced a truck loading dock with the $10.5 million Guthrie Green urban park that holds daily events and concerts during warm months. Across the street it oversaw a $36 million rehab of an old warehouse that, among other users, now houses the Woody Guthrie Center, a museum and repository of the musician’s archives, and the Philbrook Museum of Art satellite location.

The foundation also is entering into master leases with longtime building owners in the district, in which it pays a nominal rent and converts the structures to residential units, and in some cases adds commercial space. The housing is largely reserved for Teach for America educators, whom the foundation brings in for two-year teaching stints in the urban core.

The district is considered an important connection between nearby Oneok Field and the BOK Center about 10 blocks to the southwest, said Elizabeth Shreeve, a planner and landscape designer with SWA Group in San Francisco, which with other firms conducted an urban design plan for the neighborhood.

“Going there now,” she said, “it’s hard to imagine how forlorn it was.”

About 20 bars and restaurants have popped up in the Brady district over the last decade, and downtown supporters credit a lifelong Tulsan, Elliot Nelson, as the primary driver of the growth. After graduating from Notre Dame, he turned a warehouse into an Irish pub in 2004. Although he struggled early, he added an equity partner and now operates seven restaurants and bars downtown and five others spread throughout Tulsa, Norman and Oklahoma City.

“The sentiment for years was that downtown wouldn’t work — people would say, ‘You’re stupid,’ ” he said. “But it seemed to me that people might want to walk to get a beer after work instead of driving three miles.”

Mr. Nelson is pursuing residential and commercial development downtown in addition to opening more restaurants. Despite the area’s improving fortunes, he said, more density and content is needed to generate a true urban vibe.

“If you’re down here on a Thursday night, it’s still pretty quiet,” he said. “We need 3,000 apartment units with people milling about all the time. I think we can get there.”