Just a few miles north of The University of Texas is a neighborhood where Austinites go to admire the city’s history while being a part of its future. That neighborhood is Hyde Park: an old neighborhood full of young people who help make Austin one of the coolest cities in America.
M.M. Shipe, a real estate developer from Kansas, purchased the land that spans from 38th and Guadalupe to 51st and Airport before it was even a part of Austin. In 1891 Shipe persuaded the City Council to let him start an electric street car franchise to run through the land he had purchased north of town. By 1941 the street cars were out of service, but the neighborhood that had become Hyde Park was 50 years old and thriving. Many of Shipe’s contributions are still a part of everyday life in Hyde Park, including Shipe Park and swimming pools at Speedway and 45th. Shipe Pool is one of a handful of neighborhood spring-fed pools in Austin that charges no admission.
In the 1950s when The University of Texas ended its policy of requiring students to live on campus, many Hyde Park homes became rental properties, transforming the quiet neighborhood into a mecca for college students and young professionals. By the 1960s, UT was growing and Hyde Park needed to adapt, so the city rezoned the neighborhood to allow for the construction of apartment buildings.
Since then Hyde Park has become one of Austin’s most coveted neighborhoods with an average home price of more than $400,000 and a population of more than 14,000. The architecture of Hyde Park is one of its most distinctive features. It is not unusual to see a 1940s craftsman style home next to a modern mansion constructed of glass, steel and concrete. Many of Hyde Park’s homes sport exotic colors like hot pink or lime green and purple.
Many locals flock to Hyde Park for the coffee shops and restaurants such as Dolce Vita, Quacks Bakery and Hyde Park Bar and Grill at 43rd and Duval Street. Another asset of the neighborhood is the Elisabet Ney Museum, a castle-like building that served as the European sculptor’s Texas studio during the 19th Century.
The neighborhood is also home to a variety of schools and churches, including Austin ISD campuses and private schools like the Griffin School, a college prep fine arts high school. It is not uncommon to see Buddhist monks walking the streets to and from the new temple on 45th Street where one can see a floor-to-ceiling golden Buddha statue in the middle of the temple.
Perhaps the most noticeable quality of Hyde Park is the active lifestyles of its residents. At any time of day there are hundreds of people running, walking dogs, pushing strollers and riding bikes down the tree-lined avenues. The constant presence of neighbors creates a sense of community and security within the small neighborhood.
Between Speedway Street and Avenue G north of 46th Street there is a family of bright green parrot-like birds that look like they belong in the rainforest in South America, not in Austin, Texas. They are unique among the indigenous swallows, finches and jays of Central Texas, but somehow they found their way here, where they are a small but vibrant community in the heart of a fast-paced, fast-growing metropolitan area.
Showing properties
1 - 33 of 33.
See more homes for sale in Hyde Park.
(all data current as of
5/18/2012)
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$199,900 : 307 45th ST, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$319,500 : 5014 Avenue F, Austin3 beds, 1 full bath
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$249,900 : 4409 Speedway, Unit 202, Austin3 beds, 3 full baths
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$285,000 : 922 49 1/2 ST, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$187,000 : 400 35th ST, Unit 209, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$189,900 : 400 35th ST, Unit 110, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$550,000 : 3802 Avenue G, Austin3 beds, 2 full baths
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$299,000 : 4003 Avenue F, Austin3 beds, 1 full bath
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$899,000 : 701 44th ST, Austin4 beds, 2 full baths
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$279,000 : 5105 Evans AVE, Austin3 beds, 2 full baths
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$475,000 : 4404 Avenue D, Austin3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
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$420,000 : 506 51st ST, Austin4 beds, 1 full bath
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$567,500 : 3817 Avenue G, Austin3 beds, 2 full baths
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$279,000 : 4309 1/2 Avenue F, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$995,000 : 4304 Avenue B, Austin5 beds, 5 full, 1 part baths
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$374,990 : 4800 Avenue G, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$299,000 : 1015 44th ST, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$374,900 : 4203 Speedway, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$590,000 : 3413 Cedar ST, Austin5 beds, 4 full baths
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$187,000 : 400 35th ST, Unit 202, Austin2 beds, 2 full baths
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$349,000 : 924 52nd ST, Unit A, Austin4 beds, 3 full baths
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$339,000 : 946 50th ST, Austin3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths
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$329,000 : 5106 Caswell AVE, Austin4 beds, 2 full baths
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$149,900 : 611 45th ST, Unit 20, Austin1 bed, 1 full, 1 part baths
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$269,000 : 4621 Red River St, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$153,975 : 3815 Guadalupe ST, Unit 111, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$200,000 : 4333 Airport BLVD, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$525,000 : 4405 Red River ST, Austin2 beds, 1 full bath
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$1,950,000 : 602 43rd E ST, Austin4 beds, 4 full, 2 part baths
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$44,500 : 924 51st ST, Unit 207, Austin0 beds, 1 full bath
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$44,500 : 924 51st ST, Unit 106, Austin0 beds, 1 full bath
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$64,500 : 924 51ST ST, Unit 116, Austin1 bed, 1 full bath
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$64,500 : 924 51st ST, Unit 103, Austin0 beds, 1 full bath
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
