The Lord Baltimore Hotel is home to a number of unique murals depicting the history of Baltimore. The murals were painted in 1944 by Mabel and John Georgi:
“Mabel and John Georgi comprise one of the most interesting and talented of the younger married couples around town.
Mabel Scott Georgi is the daughter of Mrs. Columbus O’Donnell Lee and the late Robert P. Scott. She is gifted as an amateur actress.
She also paints and her husband is an artist of ability. They live in a studio on Mount Vernon Place, in back of the Mount Vernon Club. Long ago when the club was a private residence, the studio was a carriage house and the courtyard was where they drove the carriage around to the house.
The Georgis are doing a series of murals for the Lord Baltimore Hotel.” (“Historic Murals Done By the Georgi Twain” Baltimore American, August 6 1944)
One of the murals shows the view of the city to the south from Mount Vernon in 1850 (provided photo):
From the Baltimore American article:
“Still another one is a view of the city looking south from Washington’s Monument.
In the foreground is Mt. Vernon Place, looking much as it does today, except for the Peabody Institute and the Walters Art Gallery, etc, which had not then been built. This is 1850.”
Another shows the view of the city to the north from Federal Hill in 1752 (provided photo):
From the Baltimore American again:
“There are six smaller parlors that connect with the ballroom and in these rooms will be panels that show the growth of the city.
In the first room is a map of Baltimore depicting the town as originally planned. The original town was laid out in 1729. There are scenes of surveyors laying it out.
There is also a panel of Kaminskey’s tavern, which was one of the first in Baltimore and which is standing today.
The large panel in this room shows a view of Baltimore in 1752 as seen from Federal Hill.”
The murals were discussed in Baltimore magazine in September 1944, once they were finished:
“Baltimore now has a new point of cultural interest that ranks with its art museums among things to see and admire. The murals, two of which are reproduced above, adorn the walls of the recently redecorated Calvert Ballroom and adjacent rooms at the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
…
Altogether, the exhibit is well worth seeing and provides civic-conscious Baltimoreans and their guests with as delightful a locale for their social and business gatherings as could be desired. It is the intention of Howard Busick, Acting Managing Director of the Hotel, to have the exhibit open to visitors at all times except when the rooms are in use.”
Have a story from your visit to the murals? Email stories@lordbaltimorehotel and tell us about it!
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