Baltimore Heritage

Founded in 1863 by German immigrants Ludwig Hilgartner and partner Gottfried Schimpf, Hilgartner Stone has been producing some of the nation’s finest stonework for over 150 years. The company began on Lexington Street in downtown Baltimore and by the 1880s had become one of the most prominent marble cutters in the country with the help of a new-fangled 30 horsepower stone cutting engine. The company moved to South Baltimore in the 1880s to be closer to the railroad during a period of expansion when it also opened a branch office in Chicago, a workshop in Los Angeles, and a marble purchasing agency in Carrara, Italy. Today Hilgartner focuses on restoration, repair, and historic replication of all types of stonework, including a new project to repurpose Baltimore marble steps from buildings that are being demolished. The company, now solely in South Baltimore, relies on skilled artisans, many of whom it trains through its apprenticeship program, the only state approved program of its type in the country.  Please join us and Hilgartner CEO Tom Doyle to see and learn about 150 years of stoneworking in Baltimore.