Toma N. Socolescu (Ploiești, 1848 - Ploiești, November 22, 1897) was an important Romanian Neoclassical architect of the mid-to-late 19th century. He was the first Romanian-trained architect in Prahova County and played a major role in the town planning of Ploiești. He built numerous public works in his Județ of Prahova, while also having the distinction of having practised as a building contractor. He executed his own plans as well as those of other architects.
Biography
Born in 1848 in Ploiești, the son of Niculae Gheorghe Socol, a prominent neoclassicalp. 37. architect in the Județ of Prahova, he was the only Romanian architect working in Prahova county at the time, other architects being of foreign origin.p. 28. Builder of numerous public and official buildings in the county, as well as churches and remarkable private residences, several of which are listed as part of Romania's architectural heritage, he also served as the city architect of from 1880pp. 55-56.pp. 26 and 28. and as a master builder. He built most of his structures after drawing up all the plans. According to his son, Toma T. Socolescu, he himself manufactured the materials needed for construction.p. 70. From 1883 to 1886, he housed the School of Trades and Arts, where the sons of the town's builders were trained in the building trades, in its own house.p. 34.pp. 28 and 30. Toma T. Socolescu, recalls in his memoirs his extreme closeness to the craftsmen, who consider him one of their own.p. 16.
Thus, as a master builder and contractor,p. 36. carrying out the designs of other architects, he built schools, hospitals, high schools, and barracks.pp. 36-37.
A tireless worker, he also possessed a strong artistic sensibility. A skilled draftsman and watercolorist,p. 19. he also enjoyed creating and crafting decorative handmade objects in glazed terracotta, as well as traditional Romanian stoves, in his own home. One of his watercolors and one of his drawings—Michael the Brave on horseback—are held at the Art Museum. Originally from Transylvania, and in homage to the founding of the city by Michael the Brave, the architect adorned many of his buildings with a pediment featuring a bas-relief of the Prince.pp. 54-55.p. 66.pp. 194-195.
He was very close to his youngest brother, the architect , whom he supported financially throughout his architecture studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He left with his entire family for Bucharest in 1896 not only to oversee the major construction of the Cuza-Vodă barracks but also to maintain constant contact with the Society of Architects, of which he was a founding member. He settled not far from his brother Ion's house, at 29 Carol Boulevard.p. 26.
He was one of about twenty signatories, including Ion Mincu,The list includes leading architects and artists of the time: Aman T., Painter; , Painter; , Architect; Beniş O., Architect; , Architect; , Architect; , Painter; , Architect; , Architect; , Sculptor; Mincu, Architect; , Architect; Maimarolu, Architect; Mirea, Painter; Orăscu, Architect; , Architect; , Pictor; Săvulescu, Architect; , Architect; , Architect; Storck, Sculptor; Stăncescu, Painter; , Architect; , Painter; Tatărascu, , Painter, Sculptor. of a petition addressed to the Prime Minister requesting the creation of a Historic Monuments Commission aimed at protecting and preserving Romania's architectural heritage. The petition was published in the journal Annals of Architecture in May 1890.
In the last years of his life, he became involved in the oil industry and owned an oil derrick in the commune of , in Prahova County. In partnership with , he personally built a gas factory called "Lumina," next to the in .p. 106.p. 71.p. 215.
He died at the age of 48 on November 22, 1897, in , having accomplished a substantial body of work, despite the premature end of his professional career. He is buried in the Socolescu family vault at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.
Education and travels
He studied architecture in the department led by architects Alexandru Orăscu and Carol Benesch (or Carol Beniş) at the School of Fine Arts- Bucharest. At the request of Vasile Urechea Alexandrescu, then Minister of National Education, Theodor Aman, director of the School of Fine Arts, painter and major player in the , awarded him a merit-based scholarship.p. 70.p. 27. He enrolled in the school on December 23, 1867, and completed his studies in 1870,p. 55.p. 30.p. 195. after receiving a classical academic education.pp. 26-28. His diploma is signed by King Carol I himself.p. 47.p. 187. Romanian architects were then trained in the spirit of classical architecture. Neoclassicism was adopted in Wallachia and Moldavia as early as the 18th century, and it would endure until the end of the 19th century.
Very active and eager to learn, he undertook two one-month study trips to France and Italy, the first during the winter of 1893–1894.Very active and eager to learn, he undertook two-month-long study trips to France and Italy, the first in the winter of 1893-1894.Travel notes reported by his son Toma T., pp. 19-20. He visited his brother, , who was then an architecture student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His train journey continued to Marseille, Nice, Monte Carlo, and then to Italy—Genoa, Rome, and Naples—where he explored Pompeii and Herculaneum. On his way back, he visited Venice. In 1896, he undertook one final journey, this time with his wife, to northern Italy. He visited Milan, then Nice again, and continued by train to Paris. He passed through Vienna before arriving in on February 13, 1896.
Public offices, titles and responsibilities
President of the builders' society. City architect of from 1880.pp. 138, 196, 607-608. Founding member of the Society of Romanian Architects,Societății Arhitecților Români, founded by his uncle in 1891 and later becoming the Union of Romanian Architects (UAR) - created around February 16, 1891. He was the only one of the founders to practice architecture in .List of all founding members : Alexandru Orăscu, first chairman; Carol Benesch; ; ; Alexandru Săvulescu; ; Dumitru Mamairol; ; Ion Mincu; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - p. 50.. And the special issue published by the UAR to mark SAR's 130th anniversary: Judicial expert in construction, at the Prahova County Court, around 1890 around 1890.In November 1890, he is mentioned as a real estate expert in a succession case where an auction is decided by the Court of Prahova - Decision n°15.938 of November 14, 1890, Official Monitor of the Kingdom of Romania, n° 186, edition of November 30, 1890, p. 4323. Awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania on February 21, 1884.
Genealogy
The family of , formerly part of Făgăraș or Țara Făgărașului is a branch of the family of Muntenia, which lived in the county of Dâmbovița. A '', great boyar and son-in-law of Mihai Viteazul (1557–1601), had two religious foundations in Dâmbovița county, still existing, Cornești and Răzvadu de Sus. He built their churches and another one in the suburb of Târgoviște. This boyar married Marula, daughter of , also known as ,. sister of Prince Antonie-Vodă. was recognized by as his illegitimate daughter, following an extra-marital liaison with . is buried in the church of Răzvadu de Sus, where, on a richly carved stone slab,Slavonic inscription on the cross on the tombstone of Răzvadu de Sus: " Died, the servant of God Marula, Master of the Royal Court, Lady of Messire , former Grand Master of the Royal Court, daughter of the late Prince Mihai and Lady , in the year 1647, during the reign of Prince on 17 December, around the tenth hour of the night, solar calendar of the 21st year ", according to the Romanian translation done by G.D Florescu in 1944 from an original slavon version: " ".
. her name can be read.
Nicolae Iorga, the great Romanian historian and friend of Toma T. Socolescu, found ancestors among the founders of the City of in the 12th century.Note 8 - p. 15. In 1655, the Prince of Transylvania George II Rákóczi ennobled an ancestor of Nicolae G. Socol: ", and through him his wife , his son , and their heirs and descendants of whatever sex, to be treated and regarded as true and undeniable NOBLEMEN.",pp. 8 and 9 - Extract from the ennoblement deed of July 14, 1655. in gratitude for his services as the Prince's courier in the Carpathians, a function "which he fulfilled faithfully and steadfastly for many years, and especially in these stormy times [...]".p. 14 - writes: Around 1846, five p. 14 - writes : come to Muntenia, from , in the territory of . One of the brothers was architect (??-1872). He settled in around 1840-1845, and named himself . He married , from the suburb. He had a daughter (died in infancy) and four sons,pp. 105-106.pp. 214-215. two of whom became major architects: Toma N. Socolescu and . The lineage of architects continues with Toma T. Socolescu, and his son Toma Barbu Socolescu.
The historian, cartographer and geographer evokes, in 1891,p. 17 - , , Curtea Veche, 2005, p. 59. the presence of Romanian boyars of the first rank , in Bucharest, descendants of from . Finally, Constantin Stan also refers, in 1928, to the precise origin of Nicolae Gheorghe Socol :
Architectural and urban planning achievements
began his career as an architect and a master builder in his hometown in 1870. He designs the plans and carries out the construction of all types of buildings: private houses, public buildings, factories, churches, and other structures. As the city architect of , he created the first topographical plan of the city in 1882: ,The spelling of the town of Ploiești (as that of the Romanian language) has evolved: from , it passed to then . , by , .In 1938, wrote: , p. 56.pp. 196 and 607-608.
He contributed to the creation of the new large boulevard of independence () linking the brand-new South Railway Station () to the city center. The route was determined in 1871 by the town council after much dithering and reversals. resumed the work of Cristian Kertsch, the architect who had drawn up the expropriation plan for the project.pp. 76-78 The boulevard will become the city's main artery.
In 1830, the town of had no official, public buildings, schools, or hospitals. Public services were housed in private premises rented for the purpose, often unfit for the purpose.p. 45.p. 185. Everything still had to be built. thus played a key role in the construction and planning of public buildings.
The city owes him most of its public official buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries.pp. 30, 31, 33 and 37. Most of these would remain standing until 1944. Some, particularly the churches, are still visible today.
In
Churches, public buildings and artworks
Plans and building of church of Ploiești,translation : St. Friday Church. between 1875 and 1880, located at 12, . It is in neoclassical style, also marked by the influence of contemporary German Baroque.p 14.p. 154. The three traditional-style towers are of Russian inspiration.p. 33. Many Russian soldiers, present during the Russo-Turkish conflict, contributed to its construction.p. 55 It survived despite extensive damage from the 1940 earthquake and 1977, as well as the American bombing raids of 1944. Reconsolidated in 1998, the church is a listed historic monument.. Its inside walls are frescoed by the painter Gheorghe Tattarescu,pp. 15 and 92.pp. 155 and 818. then spelled: Tătărăscu. Plans of cemetery chapel in 1880, when the cemetery bearing the same name was founded.