Hyde Park, Austin, Texas
Encyclopedia
Hyde Park or Hyde Park Historic District is a neighborhood in Austin
, Texas
, USA
.
Located in Central Austin, Hyde Park is defined by W. 38 Street to the south, Guadalupe Street to the west and W. 51 Street to the north. It is situated just north of the The University of Texas
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
. The neighborhood was originally developed by Monroe Martin Shipe in 1891 as a "White Only" streetcar suburb
with a large artificial lake, but it has since become one of the most densely populated areas in the city's urban core.
Hyde Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1990, as was the neighboring Central Austin community of Shadow Lawn Historic District.
was held in the eastern sections of Hyde Park from 1875 until it was moved to Dallas
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 an affluent suburb featuring large, majestic residences. Critical to the suburb's success was the establishment of an electric streetcar system. After the City Council awarded Shipe an exclusive franchise in 1890, and the first line was built on Congress Avenue
and then north of Austin on Old Georgetown Road (now Guadalupe Street).
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 Elisabeth Ney 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
.
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. While steady 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.
As Austin has grown, Hyde Park has once again undergone a boom of sorts. From 2001 to 2007, the median home price has risen by nearly $70,000. As of 2007, the median home price was $320,000.
The 1.75 acres (7,082 m²) 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.
. Residents are assigned to Lee Elementary School, Kealing Middle School
, and McCallum High School
. The area is also served by Hyde Park Baptist High School
.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Located in Central Austin, Hyde Park is defined by W. 38 Street to the south, Guadalupe Street to the west and W. 51 Street to the north. It is situated just north of the The University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
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
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
. The neighborhood was originally developed by Monroe Martin Shipe in 1891 as a "White Only" streetcar suburb
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. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...
with a large artificial lake, but it has since become one of the most densely populated areas in the city's urban core.
Hyde Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1990, as was the neighboring Central Austin community of Shadow Lawn Historic District.
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 TexasState Fair of Texas
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas, Texas . The fair season usually begins the last Friday in September and ends 24 days later. The fair is held at the historic Fair Park where it has been held since 1886. The 2012 State Fair of Texas will run from September 28th...
was held in the eastern sections of Hyde Park from 1875 until it was moved to Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
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 an affluent suburb featuring large, majestic residences. Critical to the suburb's success was the establishment of an electric streetcar system. After the City Council awarded Shipe an exclusive franchise in 1890, and the first line was built on Congress Avenue
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 downtown....
and then north of Austin on Old Georgetown Road (now Guadalupe Street).
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
Oliphant-Walker House
The Oliphant-Walker House is an historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe....
, were built in the Queen Anne style by locally prominent citizens. Noted sculptress Elisabeth Ney 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
Elisabet Ney Museum
The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. The museum 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 Ney's portrait busts and personal memorabilia on display.Formosa, as...
.
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. While steady 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.
As Austin has grown, Hyde Park has once again undergone a boom of sorts. From 2001 to 2007, the median home price has risen by nearly $70,000. As of 2007, the median home price was $320,000.
Description and significance
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 are the most common house type, followed by examples of the stylistic influences of the Queen Anne and Tudor Revival styles.The 1.75 acres (7,082 m²) 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.
Historic places in Hyde Park
- Austin State HospitalAustin State HospitalAustin State Hospital , formerly known as the State Lunatic Asylum, is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the state of Texas, operated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Established by the Legislature in 1856, it commenced operations in 1861 with twelve patients. The name was...
- Blue Bonnet CourtBlue Bonnet CourtThe Blue Bonnet Court, originally called the Bluebonnet Tourist Camp, is a historic motor court-style motel in north-central Austin, Texas. Built in 1928-1929 by Joe and Elizabeth Lucas, the motel is situated on the northwestern corner of the Hyde Park subdivision along what was then the main road...
- Elisabet Ney MuseumElisabet Ney MuseumThe Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. The museum 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 Ney's portrait busts and personal memorabilia on display.Formosa, as...
- Col. Monroe M. Shipe HouseCol. Monroe M. Shipe HouseThe Col. Monroe M. Shipe House is an historic two-story home in the Hyde Park historic district in Austin, Texas. The building was completed by Monroe Shipe, founder of Hyde Park, in 1892...
- Hildreth-Flanagan-Heierman HouseHildreth-Flanagan-Heierman HouseThe Hildreth-Flanagan-Heierman House is a historic home in the Hyde Park historic district in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision of the Hyde Park neighborhood designated by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe....
- Frank M. and Annie G. Covert HouseFrank M. and Annie G. Covert HouseThe Frank M. and Annie G. Covert House is a historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe.The building was completed near the...
- Page-Gilbert HousePage-Gilbert HouseThe Page-Gilbert House is a historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe....
- Smith-Marcuse-Lowry HouseSmith-Marcuse-Lowry HouseThe Smith-Marcuse-Lowry House is an historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe....
- Oliphant-Walker HouseOliphant-Walker HouseThe Oliphant-Walker House is an historic home in the Hyde Park Historic District in Austin, Texas. It is also a part of the Shadow Lawn Historic District, a subdivision within the Hyde Park neighborhood established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe....
- Peter and Clotilde Shipe Mansbendel HousePeter and Clotilde Shipe Mansbendel HouseThe 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 established by Hyde Park founder Monroe Shipe.The house was...
Education
Residents are served by the Austin Independent School DistrictAustin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. It was established in 1881. Its current superintendent is...
. Residents are assigned to Lee Elementary School, Kealing Middle School
Kealing Middle School
Kealing Middle School is a Junior High School in Austin, Texas. Kealing is one of Austin Independent School District's seventeen Junior High Schools. Kealing is home to one of the three junior high magnet programs in Austin, which specializes in mathematics and sciences...
, and McCallum High School
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, opened in 1953 to relieve growth in north and northwest Austin. Named after AISD's first high school superintendent, A.N...
. The area is also served by Hyde Park Baptist High School
Hyde Park Baptist High School
Hyde Park Baptist High School is a privately funded Christian High School located in Austin, Texas.- History :Hyde Park was founded in 1968, and is associated with the Baptist denomination of Christianity. Hyde Park has a college-preparatory program that emphasizes Christian values.- Campuses :Hyde...
.