By Kathryn Hansen
My husband Erik and I moved to Ryan Place in the summer of 2007. We had been living in England and The Netherlands for his work and only had about a week to find a house.
We knew that we wanted to live in a historic neighborhood with lots of character. We lived in Mistletoe Heights before our expat adventure and absolutely loved the neighborhood. It was very important to us to be in the Paschal High School area, as our son had attended the excellent Lily B. Clayton Elementary and, returning as a freshman, he still had all of his old friends from his younger years.
When we returned, there were no suitable houses available in Mistletoe Heights, so we expanded our search to Berkeley, Fairmount and Ryan Place. We found a 1912 Georgian-style house on 6th Avenue in Ryan Place.
The house needed a lot of work. Some major “remuddling” had been done throughout the years. There was only a small amount of original trim left in the house. Everything had been covered over with cheap grooved paneling, which had been painted and was in poor condition. Several windows, doors and even closets had been paneled over. Who would do such a thing? We didn’t know, but we set to work undoing the unfortunate things done by previous owners.
Room by room, carpet was removed to reveal gorgeous original hardwood floors. Paneling was removed, and new trim was custom milled to match the original. It’s been 15 years now, and we are still not finished, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
What we love the most about our beautiful old neighborhood is the close proximity to Magnolia Avenue. We are exactly a mile away, and love to walk or ride our bikes down to the many wonderful restaurants, bars and shops that line that fun and vibrant street. Downtown is also an easy bike ride away, as are the Trinity Trails and Clearfork.
If it’s too darn hot (or cold) to walk or ride our bikes, we take Zip Zones to go anywhere in The Near Southside. Going to the airport and don’t feel like dealing with the traffic? No problem for us! We Zip Zone to the T&P Station and ride TexRail all the way to DFW Airport. The amenities in this area simply can’t be beat.
The neighbors in Ryan Place are just fantastic. We have so many fun events, including Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place and an annual Fourth of July parade. Evenings and weekends bring a constant parade of neighbors and their dogs and kids out walking the sidewalks under the beautiful old trees and visiting with their Ryan Place friends and neighbors. Have you lost a cat or a dog? Neighbors will literally walk the alleys in 100-degree heat to help look for them.
Ryan Place feels a lot like a small town in the middle of a big city. We also have close ties with our fun sister neighborhood, Fairmount. Residents of Ryan Place and Fairmount are welcome in each other’s Facebook groups, which is very helpful if you are trying to sell something, find a lost pet, looking for a handyman or want to be in-the-know about all of the latest happenings in our neighborhoods.
Have you ever spent Halloween in Ryan Place? If not, just imagine NOLA’s Bourbon Street with a spooky theme, but with kids and candy instead of tipsy tourists and alcohol. The fun starts as early as 5 p.m., and continues late into the evening. Police block off Elizabeth Boulevard and surrounding blocks early in the evening. People come from miles around to see our over-the-top decorations. No matter how much candy you buy, it’s never enough — we went through 16 Costco bags one year. It’s completely crazy and my absolute favorite night of the year in our neighborhood.
I often pine for England and toy with the idea of some day moving back, but then we bike down to Magnolia and share a frosty beverage on the patio of our favorite watering hole, The Radler, and I realize that I could never find a neighborhood that suits me better than the one I already live in — Ryan Place.
Kathryn Hansen is a business owner who has lived in Ryan Place since 2007.
Ryan Place
Total population: 2,240
Female: 57% | Male: 43%
Age
0-9: 19%
10-19: 15%
20-29: 9%
30-39: 11%
40-49: 17%
50-59: 11%
60-69: 10%
70-79: 5%
80 and older: 2%
Education
No degree: 11%
High school: 11%
Some college: 21%
Bachelor’s degree: 29%
Post-graduate: 28%
Race
White: 51% | Hispanic: 44% | Black: 2% | Two or more: 2%
Click on the link to view the schools’ Texas Education Agency ratings:
Noncommercial entities may republish our articles for free by following our guidelines. For commercial licensing, please email hello@fortworthreport.org.
