John C. Ryan developed Ryan Place as an exclusive residential neighborhood extending south from Jessamine Street between Eighth and College Avenues. The first phase of the development was Elizabeth Blvd., laid out in 1911. In that year, elaborate entrance gates of Carthage stone and marble were erected at the east and west ends of the street. They were designed by the prominent firm of Sanguinet & Staats. Only the pylons flanking the sidewalks survive; the larger portals were demolished by the City of Fort Worth in 1955 as traffic hazards. In 1913, Ryan petitioned the City to build “ornamental stone and brick entrances at the intersections of the south boundary line of Jessamine Street with South Henderson Street, Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Ryan Avenue…” Pylons exist at Sixth Avenue only, slightly different in design from the surviving pylons on Elizabeth Blvd. It is not certain whether the other pylons were ever built. The entrance gates on Sixth Avenue, while not within the boundaries of the existing National Register district, appear to be eligible for the Register. In 1990, the Ryan Place Improvement Association had the larger portals at Eighth Avenue reconstructed with funds raised from its annual Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place home tour.
