2022 Hyde Park Homes Tour featured homes
Download the 2022 Homes Tour Booklet (PDF) with detailed information on each location
The Baker School, c.1911
Tour Headquarters and Ticket Sales
In 1910, the Mothers’ Club campaigned successfully for Austin’s very first school bonds to pay, in part, for construction of the Baker School. The school site was secured on land that had originally been a part of the original “Park” in Hyde Park, and the new 12-room brick Baker School opened in 1911. Now owned by Alamo Drafthouse since 2018, the building underwent extensive restoration in 2019.
Bell Smith House, c. 1895
The cottage that Thaddeus and Florence Bell had built in 1895 is an excellent example of the folk Victorian style: a simple carpenter-built structure embellished with Victorian detailing which became available through mail order via the expanding American railroad system. Thaddeus C. Bell, the first child born in Austin’s Colony (October 4, 1823) and grandson of Josiah Bell, one of the original settlers who came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821
Hodnette/McKesson House, c. 1908
This house was built for Milton J. Hodnette, and was designed by Charles H. Page, Sr. who later designed the Littlefield Building and the Travis County Courthouse. The house is a fine Prairie-Style bungalow and shows the strong influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, particularly in the wide overhangs, low-profile hipped roof, and dominant horizontal lines. It may be the best example in Hyde Park of Wright’s Prairie School aesthetic.
Naranjal House, c. 1982
El Naranjal — the name inspired by a legendary lost hacienda in northern Mexico and the orange orchard from which it took its name — has been a work-in-progress since 1982. For Gene and Mary Carolyn George, the idea of building a house on the terrace above Waller Creek first began to take shape in 1980 when they discovered the property which was three overgrown lots left vacant a decade earlier by the demolition of a circa 1932 frame house. The house responds to the romantic spirit of Formosa, Elisabet Ney’s home and studio, both in scale and in the use of masonry construction.
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William T. & Valerie Mansbendel Williams House, c. 1934
This Historic Landmark house was built by Peter Mansbendel for his daughter Valerie and her husband William T. Williams as a wedding present. The house was constructed by William Kutalek and remains the same today except for a back addition added in 1950, also built by Kutalek.
Brownlee House, c. 1911
This elegant house, built in 1911, stood alone mid-block for 10 years. Mrs. Mary Banford Brownlee commissioned Simon Gillis to build the house. The exterior took the form of an American Foursquare bungalow. With its symmetry, its high peaked roof and its expansive colonnaded front porch, the house possesses a classical grace.The house underwent a restoration in 2003.
Edgar von Boeckmann House, c. 1907
This house was designed by Leo M. J. Diehlman and shows strong Colonial Revival and Classical Revival influences. Victorian and Prairie style influences are also evident. especially in the interior plan and detailing. A major renovation/restoration by architect Jay Farrell was completed in 2005. The house was recognized with a preservation award from the Heritage Society of Austin in 2005.