Hyde Park (Austin, Texas)
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Hyde Park is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
and historic district in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Located in Central Austin, Hyde Park is defined by 38th Street to the south, 45th Street to the north, Duval Street to the east, and Guadalupe Street to the west. It is situated just north of the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and borders the neighborhoods of Hancock and North Loop. Hyde Park traces its origins back to 1891 and is considered to be Austin's first
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
. The neighborhood was originally developed by
Monroe M. Shipe Colonel Monroe Martin Shipe (March 12, 1847–April 27, 1924), also called M. M. Shipe, was an American Real estate development, real estate developer who developed Hyde Park (Austin, Texas), Hyde Park, an early streetcar suburb in Austin, Tex ...
in 1891 as a "White Only"
streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...
with a large artificial lake, but it has since become one of the most densely populated areas in the city's urban core. Part of the neighborhood was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as a Historic District in 1990.


History

Located approximately twenty blocks from Austin's original town site, the area now known as Hyde Park was largely rural in character for much of the 19th century. The
State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...
was held in the eastern sections of Hyde Park from 1875 until it was moved to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in 1884. A portion of the State Fair's horseracing track is still reflected in the curved segment of 39th Street between Avenue F and Duval Street. Established in 1891 by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Land and Town Company, Hyde Park was marketed under the direction of Monroe Martin Shipe as a majority white, affluent suburb featuring large, majestic residences, separate from the racially integrated neighborhoods of the city. Ads touted Hyde Park as “free from nuisances and an objectionable class of people, proper restrictions being taken to guard against undesirable occupants.” Critical to the suburb's success was the establishment of an electric
streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
system. After the City Council awarded Shipe a franchise in 1890, his Austin Rapid Transit Railway Company built its first line on
Congress Avenue Congress Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Austin, Texas. The street is a six-lane, tree lined avenue that cuts through the middle of the city from far south Austin and goes over Lady Bird Lake leading to the Texas State Capitol in the heart of ...
, west on Sixth Street, and north on Rio Grande Street and Old Georgetown Road (now Guadalupe Street) to Hyde Park. Hyde Park was initially marketed to Austin's elite in the 1890s, and Shipe achieved moderate success. The first houses built in the neighborhood were stylistic examples of late 19th-century domestic architecture. Many of them, such as the Oliphant-Walker House, were built in the Queen Anne style by locally prominent citizens. Noted sculptress
Elisabet Ney Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney (26 January 1833 – 29 June 1907) was a German-American sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing portraits of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe G ...
was among the first to buy property in the area, which was heavily promoted as confirmation that Hyde Park was attractive to Austin's most talented and prestigious citizens. Ney built a small castle-style studio, named Formosa, in northwest Hyde Park that is now home to the
Elisabet Ney Museum The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. It is housed in the former studio of sculptor Elisabet Ney and is dedicated to showcasing her life and works. There is a permanent collection of her portrait busts and p ...
. By the late 1890s and early 1900s, however, the tone of Hyde Park's advertisements began to change. No longer was it promoted as an affluent residential area; instead, the suburb was described as an ideal place for the "working man or woman" to invest his or her earnings by purchasing a lot and building a residence. The key phrase in these promotions became affordability. Hyde Park's architectural character shifted to smaller, more modest frame houses and
bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...
. While steady construction of houses characterized the area through the early 1900s, Hyde Park's greatest building boom occurred between 1924 and 1935. Shipe Park was dedicated in 1928. Analysis of styles and dates of construction of domestic structures elucidates historic growth patterns within Hyde Park. The oldest houses are located near the State Hospital or along the former streetcar route on 40th Street. Later, as promotional emphasis shifted to a different socioeconomic group, more modest dwellings were constructed in areas somewhat removed from the streetcar line. Today, Hyde Park consists of mostly renovated bungalow-style homes, and modern duplex-style residences, many with bright colors and unorthodox decorations, due in part to the residents preserving the city’s informal “Keep Austin Weird” slogan. All street signs in Hyde Park are dedicated to its historical identity. Many ”Austinites” consider Hyde Park
Austin, TX Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
’s most locally cultured neighborhood.


Historic districts

The Hyde Park neighborhood contains two historic districts and several other individual historic buildings listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The Hyde Park Historic District is roughly defined by West 40th Street to the south, West 45th Street to the north, Duval Street to the east, and Avenue A to the west. The district includes
Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
,
Tudor Revival architecture Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
, and
bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...
. The Shadow Lawn Historic District in southeast Hyde Park is roughly bounded by 38th Street, 39th Street, Avenue G, and Duval Street. The district includes several homes of historic interest from the early twentieth century.


Historic buildings in Hyde Park

*
Blue Bonnet Court The Blue Bonnet Court, originally called the Bluebonnet Tourist Camp, is a historic motor court-style motel in north-central Austin, Texas. It is located at 4407 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas. The lot where it stands originally belonged to the ...
*
Elisabet Ney Museum The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. It is housed in the former studio of sculptor Elisabet Ney and is dedicated to showcasing her life and works. There is a permanent collection of her portrait busts and p ...
* Col. Monroe M. Shipe House * Hildreth-Flanagan-Heierman House *
Frank M. and Annie G. Covert House The Frank M. and Annie G. Covert House is a historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established ...
* Page-Gilbert House * Smith-Marcuse-Lowry House * Oliphant-Walker House *
Peter and Clotilde Shipe Mansbendel House The Peter and Clotilde Shipe Mansbendel House is an historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas, United States. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood esta ...


Real Estate and Housing Market Trends

Residential properties are the most prominent property type in Hyde Park, with single-family dwellings comprising about 95 percent of the neighborhood's built environment. Most lots within the neighborhood were improved between the late 1890s and 1935. Houses built during that period reflect the architectural tastes, trends and patterns that prevailed in Austin at the time.
Bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...
are the most common house type, followed by examples of the stylistic influences of the Queen Anne and
Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
styles. As Austin has grown, Hyde Park has once again undergone a boom of sorts. In 2001 to 2007, the median home price rose by nearly $70,000 to $320,000. Despite the housing market crash in 2008-2009, homes have regained their values and as of July 2013 the median home price was $350,000 with some properties selling for over $1.5 million. The Shipe Park is located in Hyde Park. Shipe Park has two unlighted basketball courts, one multipurpose court, two picnic tables, one playground, a 444 square yard neighborhood swimming pool, two lighted tennis courts, and indoor toilet facilities.


Education

Residents are served by the
Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin and surrounding towns, the City of Sunset Valley, the Village ...
. Residents are assigned to Lee Elementary School, Kealing Middle School, and
McCallum High School A. N. McCallum High School is a public high school in Austin, Texas, United States. McCallum, the second oldest high school in the Austin Independent School District (formerly known as Austin Public Schools prior to desegregation in 1971), open ...
.School Assignment by Residential Address
"
Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin and surrounding towns, the City of Sunset Valley, the Village ...
. Retrieved on September 26, 2009.
The area is also served by
Hyde Park Schools Hyde Park Schools is a private Christian K-12 located in Austin, Texas. Hyde Park has two campuses: the Speedway Campus for 4K through 8th grades campus and the Quarries Campus for high school.Sri Atmananda Memorial School, a private school, was in Hyde Park.


References


External links


Hyde Park Neighborhood Association

Map of the historic district

Austin's Hyde Park

Hyde Park Neighborhood info and stats

Friends of Hyde Park Neighborhood Association
{{Austin Neighborhoods in Austin, Texas Streetcar suburbs Queen Anne architecture in Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas
Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...