Hyde Park is a historic community located in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Its southeast boundary is the intersection Montrose Boulevard and Westheimer. The neighborhood was established in the late 1800s on the summer farm of the second President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau Lamar. In the 1970s, Hyde Park became a central part of the Gay Rights Movement in Houston. Like much of Montrose, the neighborhood is now experiencing significant gentrification, and is home to an abundance of restaurants, including Mexican, Italian, Greek, American, Lebanese, coffee houses, and numerous bars.GeographyHyde Park is located within the western boundary of the historic Fourth Ward, and bounded by West Gray to the north, Montrose Boulevard to the east, Westheimer to the south, and Commonwealth and Yupon to the west. The neighborhood is part of the Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood. Other Neartown neighborhoods include Cherryhurst, Courtlandt Place, Montrose, Vermont Commons, Mandell Place and Winlow Place.When Hyde Park was established, it was considered a distant suburb on the outskirts of the City of Houston. Located less than three miles from downtown and inside Loop 610, today it is considered part of central Houston.HistoryHyde Park was established in 1893 and was developed on land that was owned in the 1840s by Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second President of the Republic of Texas. When the area was annexed into the City of Houston in the early 1900s, it was owned by the Hyde Park Improvement Company, and the company's secretary and treasurer, J.C. Hooper, directed the planning and improvement of the neighborhood. In addition to an abundance of oak trees, the area was also desirable because it was of the highest elevations in the city, sitting 12 feet above downtown, and had excellent drainage to Buffalo Bayou.
