HYDE PARK

 

 

 

 

 

A neighborhood and historic district in Austin, Texas. 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 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 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. 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 was held in the eastern sections of Hyde Park from 1875 until it was moved to Dallas in 1884.

 

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 built 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, which were stylistic influences of Queen Anne and Tudor Revival styles.

 

With its proximity to the sizable University of Texas campus, Hyde Park has long attracted intellectuals, artists, and activists, in addition to students. The meandering Waller Creek, which runs through a corner of the neighborhood, bisects the nearby Hancock Golf Course as well as the popular Shipe Park, where locals enjoy the pools, picnic tables, and playscape.