page_title: Formstone
section_title: Baltimore
hierarchical_section_title: Formstone / History and popularity / Baltimore
caption_attribution_description: English: Examples of Formstone on rowhouses in the Little Italy neighborhood, Baltimore.
context_page_description: Formstone is a type of stucco commonly applied to brick rowhouses in many East Coast urban areas in the United States, although it is most strongly associated with Baltimore. As a form of simulated masonry, Formstone is commonly colored and shaped on the building to imitate various forms of masonry compound, creating the trompe l'oeil appearance of stone.
context_section_description: Formstone was used widely in Baltimore city. According to a local historian, Formstone was widely applied because it covered the porous and leaky bricks used in working-class neighborhoods. Formstone was primarily used in remodeling but could also be used for new construction. Film director and Baltimore native John Waters described Formstone as "the polyester of brick." Baltimore became the “Formstone capital of the world."
  The Baltimore-based Lasting Products Company, the parent company of Formstone, was later known as the Formstone Co. Not long after Formstone was invented, the Lasting Products Company disbanded during World War II. When business resumed, the majority of buildings faced in Formstone were single-family homes. It was not long until rowhouse homeowners in more urban and working-class areas of Baltimore wanted the clean and polished look of Formstone. The company opened successful franchise locations in various cities across the United States but Baltimore was the epicenter of the Formstone phenomenon. The company provided all of the tools and materials needed to complete a Formstone project and trained registered contractors on how to sell and apply Formstone. There were many competitors in the 1950s and 1960s, some with salesmen who advertised different materials under the Formstone product name. The competitors used a simulated stone product similar to Formstone but with different variations in patterns, colors, and application. 
  Formstone’s popularity came from the promise that it was inexpensive, maintenance-free, and more energy-efficient. It also gave Baltimore rowhouses a more modern look. A 1950 advertisement for Formstone revealed the “secret of its popularity: weatherproof and insulating forever; first cost is the last; no upkeep or repair…lasting beauty for exteriors or interiors; tried and proven; fully guaranteed.” Formstone was meant to be a maintenance-free alternative to the low-quality brick that many early Baltimore rowhouses were constructed with. These brick buildings required a lot of upkeep and frequent painting. But for the cost of three paint jobs, Formstone could be applied to the building’s exterior and eliminate much of the effort to maintain the exterior brick.
  At the height of its popularity in the 1950s, Formstone was a sign of wealth and stability in the working class neighborhoods of Baltimore. But the longevity of Formstone was not living up to the company’s promises and the Formstone Co. went out of business in the late 1960s. Aluminum and vinyl siding, much cheaper ways to weather-proof buildings, became more popular and contributed to the decline of Formstone and other simulated stone products.
caption: Formstone variations found in the Little Italy neighborhood in Baltimore
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "10.3.3", "Image DateTime": "2017:09:20 19:05:51", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "206", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[39, 17, 296/25]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[76, 36, 939/100]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "26697/3871", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[23, 5, 51]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "55625/232", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "55625/232", "GPS GPSDate": "2017:09:20", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "10", "Image GPSInfo": "1744", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2148", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9915", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/40", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "32", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:09:20 19:05:51", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:09:20 19:05:51", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "8106/1523", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7983/3509", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "7023/1630", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2013, 1510, 2217, 1328]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "824", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "824", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "4", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "27/25", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "31", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}