In 1911, Hilt Lajos, together with the firm Vogel Antal&Co., purchased a plot of land with a surface of 600 square fathoms (or square klafters in German) from the town hall, for a total of 200,000 Austro-Hungarian kronen. The plot was located at the southern end of the new Franz Jozsef Boulevard, the most fashionable area in town at the time. Later, the owners divided the lot into two plots, the northern one going to Lajos Hilt.
At the end of 1911 he obtained a building permit for a four-storey building with a total of 10 apartments and 37 rooms. In October 1912, Lajos Hilt obtained a permit for the installation of a passenger lift and a freight lift (mainly used for coal). General work on the building was completed in 1913. The building immediately generated a great deal of interest and the first tenants included lawyer Dr Endrei Mózes and the widow Schwarz Sarolta. The building is also remembered for the commercial spaces on the ground floor, the most important of which were occupied by Shell Gas (opened on 2 January 1937) and an art salon (opened in 1966, renamed Helios in 1977, and still in operation today).
The building was designed by the city’s head architect László Székely. The building fits perfectly into the architecture of Timișoara in the 1910s, with many features of the famous architect’s aesthetic. Stylistically, we can place the building in the mature period of the Secession movement in Timișoara, characterised by buildings with an imposing appearance, and the emphasis on the dynamic relationship between volumes, with decoration assuming second place. We notice the way the corner is marked by a rise in the level of the roof and the use of a double sloped mansard. Equally notable are the two-storey-high bay windows and the disruption of the eaves’ line through the use of polygonal gables. But the most characteristic detail are the intricately shaped corner balconies. In terms of decoration, geometric motifs predominate, grouped mainly in sets of three elements.
Lajos Hilt, former Chief Treasurer of Timiș County, was born in 1863. He distinguished himself in the cultural, sporting and political life of the town, holding numerous public and private positions, including that of Treasurer of the Southern Hungarian Historical and Archaeological Museum Association. His name is also linked to the history of the Regatta Rowing Club, first as a sportsman, then as a member of the Board of Directors, and even as president of the Regatta Association. He died in 1945, at the age of 83, and was buried in Eroilor Cemetery in Timișoara