Manifest Destiny as Architectural Form: Hyde Park's Classic Homes

You'd be hard-pressed to tell nowadays that the crowded, bustling community of Hyde Park - home to artists, writers, UT's young alumni, and some of our favorite local musicians - was in an earlier incarnation a pastoral aristocratic suburb with vast parklands and large Colonial Revival-style houses. Few of these homes that were originally built in the 1890s remain today, having been supplanted by the decidedly modest but cozy bungalows and frame houses that now define the architecture of this neighborhood.

This weekend affords you a perfect opportunity to get a sense of Hyde Park as it once was, when it had its own streetcar line and was relatively detached from downtown Austin. The Hyde Park Homes Tour is an annual showcase of the area's most distinctive residences, featuring several architectural styles from Colonial Revival estates to Craftsman bungalows.

The tours run Saturday from 10-6, and Sunday from 1-5. Advance tickets purchased through today are $12, or $15 on the day of. For ticket sales locations and a map of the neighborhoods, check out the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association's website.

*Photo is of the Waldrup Agee-Spence home on 200 West 40th Street, from the HPNA site.