Hilary Majewski, (Polish pronunciation: [majɛfski], born 15 January 1838, Radom – died 21 July 1892, Łódź) was a Polisharchitect, a representative of the 19th-century historicism. Between 1872–1892, he served as the city architect of Łódź, Central Poland, and is regarded as one of the most prominent architects in the city's history.[1]
He was born on 15 January 1838 in Radom to father Wincenty and mother Teofilia née Piątkowska. In the years 1859–1861 he studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and received his diploma in 1864. After completing his studies, he was granted a scholarship which allowed him to travel across Europe to countries like Italy, France, England and Bavaria where he acquired his aesthetic taste in architecture which he later used in his professional career as an architect.[2]
He served as the chief architect in the Radom District and then established his own architecture studio in Warsaw. In 1872, he accepted the position of the City Architect of Łódź and fulfilled this role until his death.[3][4]
Majewski was a very prolific architect and is considered the most renowned architect of the city of Łódź. He was the author of 546 projects which he signed with his name, though a few of them were created in collaboration with other architects. He designed villas, private residences, palaces, tenement houses and supervised the construction of factories, bridges and roads.[5] He designed many townhouses along the city's longest thoroughfare, the Piotrkowska Street. He also designed his own house along the Kamienna Street 11 (currently Włókiennicza Street).[6][7]
Grand Hotel, Piotrkowska Street 72, the building previously served as Ludwik Meyer's factory, it was re-adapted as a hotel in 1912–1913 according to a project by Majewski and Dawid Lande, (1872–1887)
Franciszek Fischer House, Piotrowska Street 54, (1872–1876)
Matylda and Edward Herbst Villa, Przędzialniana Street 72, (1875–1877)
Izrael Poznański's Palace, known as the "Louvre of Łódź", one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city, co-authored with Adolf Zeligson, it currently houses the Museum of the City of Łódź, Ogrodowa Street 15, (1898)