Nestled under a canopy of mature cedars and live oaks, just past the downtown skyscrapers, on the flat network of pleasant sidewalks and inviting front porches is a favorite Austin neighborhood, Hyde Park. The first self-sufficient Austin suburb, Hyde Park is a place where neighbors unite to celebrate their heritage and to protect the structures and landscape that have played part in the evolution and cultivation of, not only the neighborhood, but also the city of Austin. The community, propelled by ‘movers and shakers,’ is an active group of individuals that are as colorful and unique as the homes they live in. The history of Hyde Park is one that they are proud to share.

Colonel Monroe M. Shipe established Hyde Park as one of Austin’s first suburbs in 1891. Lorre Weildlich, the Local Historic District Chair of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, explained, “Colonel Shipe’s vision for his suburb made Hyde Park what it is today.” The general layout of the homes gives a pedestrian feel that promotes a sense of community. Early on residents could walk to small stores scattered throughout the area such as Avenue B Grocery, Austin’s oldest grocery store, or to the main business district on Guadalupe, which had barbershops, cafes, a drug store, and other shops. Shipe built gravel streets, and a streetcar system that looped around the neighborhood and provided access to downtown Austin (about two miles south). He also donated land for the first church, built a school, and personally paid the teacher’s first years salary to ensure its success. Located on the west boundary of the neighborhood, The State Insane Asylum grounds were often enjoyed by the early dwellers as a place to take long walks, rides in the buggy, or boats on the pond. (It’s a running punch line in the community that its proximity to the neighborhood is no coincidence, usually not discounting their own contribution to the axiom.) By 1910, Hyde Park had become a town of its own, with a distinctive section in the newspaper.

In conjunction with the time of the Hyde Park’s early development, German sculptor, Elisabet Ney, introduced to the area by a powerful friend, former Governor Oran M. Roberts, built her studio, Formosa, on seven acres of land south of Waller Creek in 1892. Today, “The Elisabet Ney Museum is the jewel in the crown of Hyde Park. It is a unique structure that grew out of the unique personality of Elisabet Ney, an artist of international stature. It combines the romantic and the classical, the conventional and the iconoclastic and is recognized on the national, state, and local levels,” Weildlich explained. In 1895, Shipe played part in ensuring another historic fixture of the neighborhood’s success. The Moonlight Tower is one of only 17 left from an original group of 31. Weildlich said, “The towers are intimately connected to the history of Austin: they used electricity from Austin’s first power plant on the Colorado River. The tower in Hyde Park was the first one installed. When the Hyde Park Addition opened in 1891, the electrical generators at the dam were not complete. Hyde Park founder Colonel Monroe Shipe powered the Hyde Park Moonlight Tower with electricity from his own generator. Austin is the only city in the world in which a moonlight tower system still operates.”

If you stroll the walkways along the system of numbered streets and lettered avenues, you will observe the variations in architectural styles and sizes of homes. Weildlich noted, “Because Hyde Park was originally developed for upper-income buyers, it has a number of outstanding Victorians like the Sears-King house and the Badger houses. Because it was later marketed to middle-income buyers, it has blocks of bungalows that evoke the look and feel of the 1920s and ‘30s.” The Colonel Monroe M. Shipe House completed in 1892 is a two-story home that uses a Stick style form, Queen Anne decorations, and a flat concrete roof that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located in the subdivision he named ‘Shadowlawn.’

With a united front, the community today is dedicated to maintaining the neighborhood Shipe developed. For the past 35 years, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association has fought for zoning laws, historical landmarks, and restoration and preservation projects. Behind it is a long list of dedicated citizen activists that have ensured its success. One of the more notable acts was in 1969 when Dorothy Ritchers, the unofficial Mayor for Life of Hyde Park, saved the fire station from closure, and a revived spirit in the neighborhood induced a need for the HPNA to organize community efforts. A neighborhood newspaper, The Pecan Press, and monthly association meetings where established. Now the HPNA has over 15 committees dedicated to the various concerns including a Steering Committee and a Development Review Committee. (There is a saying in Hyde Park that whenever you see three or more neighbors standing outside talking—usually in the street or maybe in their cars while passing each other—it constitutes an official neighborhood meeting.)

While the HPNA has had a dominant role in the success of the historic preservation, the acts of the members of the neighborhoods speak for themselves. One by one the houses in the neighborhood are being restored. Despite pressure from developers, the community took out all stops in their quest to preserve a particular house – 311 West 41st Street. According to Wanda Penn, current owner and someone who previously spent 30 years renovating her derelict 1893 Victorian home in the Shadowlawn subdivision, “Due to Austin’s somewhat convoluted zoning and building code structure, the demo permit for the home took on a life of its own. Neighbors soon realized that if the house was to be saved, we would have to put our money where our mouth was. Restore Hyde Park was formed, and a dozen neighbors put up money to purchase and restore the house. I was in charge of the actual day-to-day work and much of the decision-making. It was a blast.” With the project complete, one of the house’s most notable elements is the 100 year old, original, metal shingle roof, and the only one known to remain in Hyde Park.

An overall appreciation for the neighborhood’s historical significance and a sincere desire to get to know, support and respect each other has united this community and motivated their success. Many have influenced and played part in the fabric of the neighborhood, and like their predecessors, they are not only dedicated to preserving their beloved neighborhood, but also to making it a better place. Filled with civic pride, the neighbors of Hyde Park have much to celebrate. The community and friends join together each year for the Fire Station Festival, a Historical Home Tour, Frontera Fest, and varied holiday celebrations to raise funds for and celebrate their efforts. (Don’t forget to check out the 37th Street lights this December!) We feature some of the Hyde Park ‘movers and shakers’ – highlighted above – as well as some of the businesses they frequent – on the following page.