Toma T. Socolescu

Toma T. Socolescu
Toma T. Socolescu in his youth.
Born	20 July 1883 Ploiești
Died	16 October 1960 Bucharest
Nationality	Romanian
Alma mater	Ion Mincu University
Occupation	Architect
Awards	First prize in the contest for the Palace of the Municipality of Bucharest (1925), Honorary citizen of the city of Ploiești, Member of the Order of the Crown of Romania to the rank of officer
Practice	Architecture, urban planning, archeology, university education, culture, politics, journalism
Buildings	Central hall and St John cathedral of Ploiești
Projects	City planning of Ploiești, city radius increase
Design	Neo Brâncovenesc style or Neo-Romanian style

Toma T. Socolescu, (20 July 1883 in Ploiești – 16 October 1960 in Bucharest, Romania) was an important Romanian architect. A pillar of Romanian architecture from the early 20th century until World War II, he devoted his life to his native Prahova County, especially the city of Ploiești. He also contributed significantly to his country's cultural life.

Biography

Born into a family of architects that marked Romanian modern architecture until the Second World War, Toma T. Socolescu left a consistent legacy of outstanding constructions, cultural foundations and literature related to Romanian architecture and its evolution. He is still considered a standard in the world of arts and architecture. A dozen of his works have been classified as historical monuments.

Sketch of a monumental entry. Extract from Toma T. Socolescu's sketches notebook.

Education and travels

The son and nephew of architects, he studied in 1901 at the lyceum St Peter and St Paul of Ploiești (ro) and then enrolled at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, then known as the National School of Architecture, where he was the student of Ion Mincu, the leading expert in Romanian architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. In June 1911, he graduated with highest honors, specializing in civil and religious architecture and Romanian archaeology. He returned to this institution to teach architectural theory from 1929 to 1947.

He began his career as a designer at the Central Post Office in Bucharest in 1904. In 1906 he was hired as a designer by a large workshop of architects dedicated to building the infrastructure of the 'Romanian General Exhibition of 1906'. Carol Park was specially designed for this event by the French landscape architect Édouard Redont. The exhibition ran from 6 June to 23 November 1906 in Bucharest. The event was organized by the Romanian Government in honor of the 40-year reign of Carol I of Romania. This opportunity put him in contact with leading artists and architects of the time and had a decisive impact on the rest of his career.

His travels to Vienna, Constantinople and Budapest in 1913, to Italy (15 December 1923 to 20 February 1924, and January 1937) and to France represented a milestone in his life. In these places he found inspiration for his work in Romania.

Service during World War I

Drafted into the 47th Infantry Regiment in 1916, he was assigned to the Bucharest transport regiment and then sent to the 'Danube Defense Group' (Grupul Apărării Dunarii). There, with other architects and engineers, he was responsible for bridge demolition operations during the Moldova retreat. He also built hospitals and sanitation facilities, hoping to combat typhus, which was wreaking havoc on the Romanian army. Around 1917 he joined a battalion of mountain troops. The retreat of the Romanian army to Moldova enabled him to discover the rustic and sacred arts of various Romanian regions. Never separated from his notebook, he produced many drawings of folk art and traditional architectural styles that would later inspire him. Two reproductions of his watercolors of houses in Chișinău (Bessarabia) were published in 1926. In 1941 he wrote an article on the Romanian ancient art of Bessarabia, and illustrated it with his own watercolors.

Architectural and urbanistic work

Toma T. Socolescu was one of the representatives and staunch defenders of the Romanian national architectural style, also referred to as Neo brâncovenesc style or Neo Romanian style. He was inspired particularly by the Brâncovenesc style. He worked to improve Ploiești's appearance and to develop public buildings for all of county of Prahova. Very interested in archeology, he would study and preserve many old houses and churches, but also publish studies and surveys in this area.

Facade sketch. Extract from the Toma T. Socolescu's sketch notebook.

He also played a key role in the management of the Society of Romanian Architects, and constantly participated in his hometown's cultural and social life. He even served as Mayor from December 1919 to March 1920.

The artistic component of architecture was fundamental for him and he was very critical of architecture that was unrelated to art, especially to traditional Romanian art. He decried a sharp increase in the number of architecture students without the necessary artistic talent. In his memoirs, he chastised the architects of the 1920s through the 1940s, who, according to him, neglected the artistic foundations of architecture. He also denounced the projects which only took land use into account and noted the lack of hygiene in houses built between 1930 and 1950 in Romania, while the buildings in France, Austria and Germany of the same period were much more advanced in this field. His editorials against the immediate search for profit and property speculation, leading to poor and soulless construction, still echo today.

In The Architecture of Ploiești, A Historical Study (1938), Toma T. Socolescu writes:

We live in a confusing time, in which it seems that nobody knows what he wants. From this is derived this chaos of so-called modern buildings, resulting in a time when science, engineering calculations and a quasi-superficiality of architectural knowledge have overtaken a sacred beauty that was cultivated over the centuries that have preceded us, standardizing everything and thus creating cold and clumsy works of civilization on the ruins of those of culture, those which have given us the tradition and spirit of this people raised in the cult of beauty.

In Ploiești

He was mayor of Ploiești immediately after the 1916-1918 conflict, as well as the county's Chief Architect, and had to handle all major supply problems in the city. He was the primary creator of the city's radius expansion, including the refineries located in the periphery that allowed the city to benefit from the tax base they provided. The budget tripled and reach a level that allowed large infrastructure projects. He planned major changes in the city, including the construction of the Central Market Hall of Ploiești, and act as urban planner. Many architectural projects that were not completed during his short term were finished by the following mayors.

Throughout his life, he improved the City of Ploiești both in terms of town planning and hygiene. From 1932 to 1935, in collaboration with architects Ion Davidescu and S. Vasilescu, he developed a systematic plan of the city. This plan, that gave more weight to greenspace, traffic and railway and generally organized orderly growth of the city. The plan provides for urban development and the optimal populating density, the public and cultural institutions allotment, schools, greenspaces. It also details the rules that will define what is called today the land-use plan. He developed similar plans for the towns of Câmpina and Mizil. These projects were in forced until the Communists took over the city government in 1945. The plan called systematic had nothing in common with the massive destruction implemented by the Communists and called systematization.

In Păulești

Duqué's manor in Păulești.

He also put a lot of time and effort into the commune of Păulești as from its installation there in 1927. He was its mayor between February 1938 and January 1945, a term interrupted by the Legionary Movement regime between November 1940 and February 1942. His second term was also be shortened by the Communists in January 1945. In only five years and a half, he built almost all its buildings, bridges and public monuments, incl uding the town hall, the primary school and the public baths. He also created landscaped areas including the municipal park, called Parcul cu castani, An especially beautiful chestnut tree avenue cut across the park and led to the cemetery. He had hoped an amusement park and an ornamental pond could be built in this area, to provide to the Ploiești residents (Păulești is located at only 7 km from Ploiești) a large green space for rest. The project began around 1930 but was not completed before the Second World War. It revived under the name Parc Pădurea Păulești in 1995. After many legal disputes between the city and the construction company, the project was halted and then re-activated in July 2007. Work resumed in 2009. In 2007, in recognition of the benefits provided by the architecct, the commune college was renamed Arhitect T T. Socolescu. In late May 2011, another ceremony celebrated the architect, unveiling a bust in his image. This was installed in the courtyard of the school.

Cultural and artistic work

To develop the cultural life of his city, he launched initiatives that equipped Prahova County with its first museum and cultural institutions. Supported by Ploiești and Nicolae Iorga, also he founded its first history museum, its first public library, and its first museum of fine arts.

Regional Museum of Prahova

By 1914, aided by Nicolae Iorga intervening to Ion Duca, then Minister of Education, he saved from destruction an historic house dating from the 18th century and preserved in its original form : the coppersmith dealer house of Hagi Prodan (Casa Hagi Prodan). In 1919, as County Architect in Chief, he founded a smallregional ethnographic and religious art museum in the same house. It was the city's first museum initially called muzeul județului or muzeul Prahovei.

Balcony illustration. Extract from Toma T. Socolescu's sketchbook.

After a public appeal and a successful fundraising campaign, he collected from all over the county, with the help of priests and teachers, many outstanding pieces of art. The museum was well stocked with furniture, clothing and icons forgotten in the region's attics. Nicolae Iorga, then president of the Commission on Historical Monuments, added to the staffing many other pieces of historical value. Stored in the Prefecture's cellar of Ploiești during the period 1940-1944, the museum's inventory was eventually lost or stolen during the communist period and replaced with other objects collected by Professor Nicolae Simache, whom the architect will assist.

Known as the Muzeul Hagi Prodan since 1953, the museum was renamed on 18 June 2005 : Casa de Târgoveț din Secolul al XVIII-lea - al XIX-lea.

Popular University Nicolae Iorga

Political and cultural companion of Nicolae Iorga, the architect will actively participate in Summer courses established in 1911 in Vălenii de Munte by the historian. In addition to achieving the plans of the classrooms, the architect will take place regularly as a speaker, among many professors and prominent figures of the Romanian cultural and political life. Become famous and having taken a great extent, the openings of Summer courses of Iorga attracted many leading politicians and ministers in office. King Ferdinand of Romania, Prince Carol II of Romania and Princess Elisabeth of Wied also attended lectures by the historian. On 17 August 1938, Maria Tănase will sing for the closure. has bee

Popular Library Nicolae Iorga

He also founded in 1921, partly through public subscription, the Biblioteca Populare Nicolae Iorga, originally installed on the municipal baths's right wing. Heading the Management Committee, he will continue to expand the library contents thanks to generous donors. In the same place, on the ground floor, he will then develop an art gallery by collecting Western Europe artists's reproductions as well as original Romanian oils and watercolors. Inaugurated on 20 March 1921, it had originally 1250 volumes. In 1937, more than 11000 books and more than 3500 publications will be available and used free of charge by the 8000 registered readers. The institution will benefit from significant subsidies increasing from its inception. He will give himself over 250 volumes from his own collection.

Museum of Fine Arts

As well as developing the Public Library Nicolae Iorga and on the ground floor of the same building, he founded and developed an art gallery by collecting reproductions of Western Europe artists of well as original Romanian oils and watercolors. For this purpose, he will be helped by a group of Ploiești intellectuals including the lawyer, art collector and politician Ion Ionescu-Quintus, the historian Dumitru Munteanu-Râmnic, as well as by successive mayors of the city including Ștefan Moțoiu, great trader, who will provide substantial financial support to this project. Within the framework of the Cultural Foundation Nicolae Iorga, created around 1930 and chaired by the architect, the pinacotheca will became the Ploiești Museum of Fine Arts. It will be inaugurated by the architect in November 1931 The opening speech is reproduced in extenso in Amintiri. It was only in 1965 that the museum will be moved to the current building : the Ghiță Ionescu palace, former County Prefecture. In Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric and Monografia orașului Ploești, appear photographs, a list of all the exhibited painters, as well as some remarkable works, present in the museum in 1938. The latter was then installed in the old municipal baths. Some oils and watercolors by Toma T. Socolescu, which the latter donated to the museum, still exist, as do some works by the artist Toma Gh. Tomescu, but are not exposed in the museum.

Other cultural activities and foundations in Prahova

• Library and museum creation in Păulești in the 1930s. In 2010, the library still exists but has been looted during the Second World War, however, there is still a painting of Toma Gh. Tomescu
• Disinterested, he will organize and fund agricultural training in viticulture and free fruit growing for the villagers of the commune in his own farm, located on the land of the Socolescu manor.
• Toma T. Socolescu was also a talented painter. He painted many watercolors that met some success. Among his close friends also appears the Romanian painter Toma Gh. Tomescu native of Valenii de Munte in Prahova County, for whom he built the house in the same village in 1926-1927. Toma T. Socolescu will buy many of his works that will later donate to the muzeul Prahovei.

Communist period

A member of a prominent family in Romania, leading politician of the Prahova County, and refusing to integrate into the communist organization of architects, considered as an Enemy of the people, he was threatened, blackmailed and persecuted by the communist authorities. His real and personal properties were confiscated or stolen in the 1950s by the Securitate (the Romanian political police), and the local communist authorities. His family, like most families of good Romanian society, will particularly suffer from this situation. Prohibited from practicing his profession of architect, he will be expropriated and expelled from Păulești estate on 21 February 1952 and will move with his son Toma Barbu Socolescu in Bucharest. The Socolescu family will be harassed and bullied by the Securitate almost until his death in 1960. Without income, and being denied a decent pension by the communist authorities, he will have to work until the age of 74 at the Institute of Urban Planning and Construction (ISPROR). From 1953, within the framework of ICSOR, he was sent on secondment to the Department of Historical Monuments for four years. On 12 February 1957, he was forced to retire with a reduced pension. Despite the adversity and difficulties, Toma T. Socolescu fought tirelessly until his last days to defend, without concessions, his idea of architecture.

Legacy

Toma T. Socolescu is still studied in the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism and is still considered as an architectural reference in Romania. Toma T. Socolescu is one of the remarkable figures that have given to Romania, and mainly Prahova County, his modern urban structure, and a particularly noticed beauty until the end of the inter-war years.

There was until today no visible reference to Toma T. Socolescu in the streets of Ploiești or in those of the capital. Although there is a Technical High School in Ploiești, named after his father Liceul Toma N. Socolescu, an architecture and public works technical college in Bucharest named after his uncle, Colegiul Ion N. Socolescu and also a street named after his father in Ploiești, the name and work of Toma T. Socolescu seemed so far to be absent from the history of the Prahova County and Bucharest. The professor-architect is out of oblivion since 21 October 2010 when took place in Ploiești and Păulești, a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death. In addition, various ceremonies were held from 2009 to 2011, including the installation of a bust before the Central Market Hall of Ploiești and the naming of the park that is located in front of it, in the name of the architect. On 29 September 2010, Toma T. Socolescu was awarded the postmortem title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Ploiesti.

His friend Ion Ionescu-Quintus at the Păulești manor, around 1930.

Many of his works were destroyed partly by the American bombardments of 1943-44, especially harsh in Ploiești, but also by the Communists and Nicolae Ceaușescu who carried out the removal of all traces of the soul and the Romanian architecture via the systematization. As it occurred with many goods stolen by the Romanian state during the communist totalitarian era, some of its properties have been returned in an advanced state of degradation, as for his manor in Păulești, or his building in Ploiești, which has been totally disfigured in the 1950s.

His house of Păulești has been classified on the regional list of Historic Monuments, after 45 years of abandonment and neglect from the state. Built by another architect and having no Link with the Socolescu style, It was returned to the heiress in a very damaged state. Stripped of its land, and of its then planted ornamental garden (organized by the architect), it has lost most of its original beauty and harmony. The estate is no longer own by the Socolescu family, it has been sold in August 2010.

A friend and family gathering in the manor of Păulești in 1937.

His Ploiești apartment house after having suffered badly the Anglo-American bombings of 1944, will be nationalized in 1950 and disfigured by a rehabilitation disconcerted to the original style of the construction. It will be partially returned to the family in 2006.

Most of the finest works, houses and edifices of Ploiești, including several built by Toma T. Socolescu, his father Toma N. Socolescu or his uncle Ion N. Socolescu, were destroyed by the Communists, under pretext of weakness due to earthquake of 1940 and 1977. Disfigured by a policy of tabula rasa, the city has kept only a very small portion of its historic architecture.

After 1949, Toma T. Socolescu devoted his spare time to writing his memoirs. He continued to work on the project until the final year of his life in 1960. After more than fifty years of neglect by various Romanian institutions, including the University of Architecture of Bucharest, in 2004 his family published in Romania the first part of his memoirs called Amintiri (the only part he ever finished) which covers the period from his birth up to 1924. The Fresco of architects who have worked in Romania in the modern era from 1800 to 1925, a far more important work, was completed in 1955 and also published in 2004 by his family. Both books are available at the National Library of Romania, also at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism. The Central University Library of Bucharest and the British Library also have a copy of the Fresco. In France, Amintiri can be found at the National and University Library of Strasbourg. His book dedicated to the architecture in Ploiești, Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric, published in 1937, was recognized by the Romanian Academy. It is available at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The first page of a small booklet he wrote in French in 1941 sums up his credo:

La puissance créatrice de notre peuple est complètement prouvée par son bel art populaire plusieurs fois millénaire ainsi que par l'architecture plus récente de nos églises, habitations princières et voïvodales.         La Création étant le but suprême d'un peuple, c'est par notre apport personnel que nous justifierons notre existence de demain.         En Architecture, il ne faut pas à tout prix rechercher le nouveau et nous garder des formules sacro-saintes, comme par exemple : il faut être de son temps. L'architecte ne peut rester en arrière, il a au contraire pour mission d'entraîner ses contemporains dans sa marche vers le progrès.         L'architecture ne peut être internationale, elle doit être conservatrice et suivre évolutivement la chaine des traditions d'un peuple. La construction et la décoration, formant l'une le squelette, l'autre l'enveloppe, doivent se compléter et satisfaire aux deux exigences impérieuses : la logique et le sentiment.         Un grand penseur européen H. Keyserling, croit que notre peuple est appelé à ressusciter l'art byzantin, qui est à la base de notre Église et de notre architecture et que par une reprise de nos traditions d'art, de l'esprit duquel a jailli l'art de notre passé, nous devons diriger nos pas vers une renaissance moderne de nos arts plastiques.

Official duties, titles and public responsibilities

Firstly man of arts and culture, Toma T. Socolescu will have a limited political commitment. His mandates of mayor, municipal councilor and deputy were indeed the means to move forward cultural, urban planning or architecture projects. Committed student and patriot, his strong links with Nicolae Iorga led him to take responsibility within his political party the Nationalist-Democrat Party. However, remaining free and open, he developed many relationships and friendships with people from other political spectrums as Ion Ionescu-Quintus from the National Liberal Party, whose he was also very close.

His approach was to bring together all people of good will that wished to put the knowledge available for the greatest number, and embellish the city. His only political action, known at national level, is his support for the bill regarding the organization of the Corps of Architects and the Romanian Register of Architects in 1932. Adopted by parliament, a royal decree of application will be signed on 15 July 1932.

• Professor of Theory of Architecture at the Bucharest National Higher School of Architecture from 1927 to 1947.
• Chief Architect of the Prahova County from 1919 to 1920.
• Mayor of Ploiești from December 1919 to March 1920.
• Councilor of Ploiești from 10 March 1926 to 20 March 1929, under Mayor Ion Georgescu Obrocea.
• Prahova County deputy under the government of Nicolae Iorga from 19 April 1931 to 6 June 1932, within the Nationalist-Democrat Party.
• Vice-president of the Nationalist-Democrat Party from May 1929.
• Mayor of the commune of Păulești from February 1938 to November 1940, and from February 1942 to January 1945.
• Awarded the Order of the Regina Maria Cross for its military construction during the First World War.
• Distinguished by the Work award, first class for his teaching in May 1927, upon the opening of the Palace of Business Schools main body in Ploieștii.
• Member of the Order of the Crown of Romania to the rank of officer by order of King Ferdinand I of Romania in 1925.
• Ploiești Rotary Club member from April 1937.
• Founder and Chairman of the Cultural Foundation Nicolae Iorga in the 1930s.
• Selection Committee member of the Romanian architecture journal : Arhitectura in the beginning of the 1940s.
• Member of the Society of Romanian Architects, then from 1953, member of the Union of Architects of the Popular Republic of Romania.
• Honorary citizen of the City of Ploiești, posthumously, since September 2010.

Genealogy

The Socol family of Berivoiul-Mare, formerly part of Făgăraș or Făgăraș land is a branch of the Socol family of Muntenia, which lived in the county of Dâmbovița. A Socol, great boyar and son-in-law of Mihai Viteazul (1557–1601), had two religious foundations in the county of Dâmbovița, still existing, those of Cornești and Răzvadu de Sus. He did built their churches (and also another one in the suburb of Târgoviște). This boyar was married to Marula, daughter of Tudora din Popești, sister of Prince Antonie-Vodă. Marula has been recognized by Mihai Viteazul as his illegitimate daughter, following an extra-marital liaison with Tudora. Marula is buried in the cemetery of Răzvadu de Sus church, where, on a slab of richly carved stone, her name can be read.

Nicolae Iorga, The great Romanian historian and friend of Toma T. Socolescu, has found Socol ancestors among the founders of the town of Făgăraș. Around 1846, five Socol brothers came to Muntenia, from Berivoiul-Mare, in the Land of Făgăraș where the name of Socol is widespread. It is told that an ancestor of Socol would come to Muntenia, including the region of Târgoviște, home of the family Socol, being so far next to Târgoviște, the Socol valley, and their two religious endowments Răzvadul de Sus and Cornești.

One of these five brothers is the architect Nicolae Gh. Socol (?? - died in 1872). He settled in Ploiești and named himself Socolescu. Married with Iona Săndulescu, from the Sfantu Spiridon suburb, he had a daughter (died in infancy) and four boys, of whom two major architects : Toma N. Socolescu and Ion N. Socolescu. Toma T. Socolescu is one of the child of Toma N. Socolescu.

Family Tree

Architectural contests

Practicing architecture as a profession, he will get many prizes in architectural design competition :

• First prize for two different subjects : model plan for a small wooden church with one steeple and another model plan for a bigger one with several steeples, Pantocratul, 1907.
• Second prize for the project of the Normal School of Buzău. The first prize was not awarded because only two architects participated in the contest.
• First prize in the contest for the unification of the Palace of the newspapers Adevărul and Dimineața facades. More than 30 architects participated in the contest in 1914. The project of Toma T. has been published in the newspaper Dimineața and also in the Arhitectura journal in 1916 and 1924. The construction will never be born because of the First World War. A facade, without any relation with the architect project, will be built in the 1920s.
• First prize in the contest for the building of the Creditul Prahovei of Ploiești around 1923. Pictures and plans of the bank have been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1926. The artwork was performed.
• First prize in the contest for the Palace of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (in Ploiești) probably around 1920, following the acquisition of adjacent buildings by the Chamber of Commerce. The work has been only partially done. The Chamber was abolished by the Communists in 1949, after 84 years of activity. The palace has been destroyed during the communist period.
• First prize in the contest of the orthodox cathedral of the town of Târgu Mureș in 1924. The cathedral was constructed but designed by another architect who had failed in the competition.
• First prize in the contest for the Palace of the Municipality of Bucharest in 1925. The project has been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1926. This success was the opportunity to celebrate the architect in Ploiești. No construction will ever be built before 2010, the city hall remaining up to that date in the Palace of Public Works Ministry, a building designed around 1910 by the architect Petre Antonescu.
• First prize in the contest of the Casino of the Astra Română Refinery in Ploiești. It will be published in the July–October 1937 issue of the Arhitectura journal. The project will never be born.
• First prize in the contest of the covered market of the town of Predeal. The work has not been executed.
• First prize in the contest for the Labour Palace of the City of Ploiești. The work has not been executed.

Remarkable architectural achievements

The Palace of Business Schools became the National College Ion Luca Caragiale in 1948.

In Ploiești

• Palace of Business Schools, calea Oilor at the time, it became strada Gheorghe Doja. The palace is located at No. 98. The Palate construction was carried out between 1924 and 1938, thanks to the willingness of the successive presidents of the Ploiești Chamber of Commerce. Sheltering all business schools for boys from 1938, under the name Liceul Comercial Spiru Haret, it will cease its training business when the communists came to power in 1948. It now houses the National College Ion Luca Caragiale. It is classified historical monument.
  

  Former Primary teachers house of Ploiești or Casa corpul Didactic.
• Primary teachers house of Ploiești. The building is located on strada Ștefan cel Mare, No. 8. Its construction began in 1925 and was probably completed in 1931. It will be inaugurated on 2 October 1932 Preserved, it has however been affected by the 1940 and 1977 earthquakes. Integrating all the necessary facilities for teachers and their families, it also housed a theater-cinema, a bookstore and a printing press in the basement. It has no longer been housing the teachers house for a long time. Nationalized by the Communists in 1962, it was recovered by the County League of Prahova Free Teaching Unions in a deplorable general state. It was sold several times and is undergoing major rehabilitation since summer 2010. Work is scheduled to last until 2013, the building must be converted into a polyclinic. It is classified historical monument.
• Courthouse, designed in collaboration with the French architect Ernest Doneaud. The first project was developed and implementation begun before the war under the prefect Luca Elefterescu. Toma T. Socolescu will be nominated "executive architect" responsible for all construction from 1923 until its completion in 1932. This edifice will become the Palace of Culture in 1953, however preserving within it the appeal court. Weakened and damaged by the Anglo-American bombardments of 1943-44 and the earthquake of 1977, it has been strengthened in the 1980s. Its restoration has been resumed since 2006, it is still not completed in September 2010. Published in the Arhitectura journal in 1924, The palace has been classified historical monument.

The Courthouse, transformed into the Palace of Culture.

• Central Market Hall of Ploiești, a masterpiece which will mark the city of his footprint. The contract for the construction of the market hall will be signed between the architect and the city in 1912, based on the municipal council decision of 9 November 1912, chaired by the Mayor Scarlat Orăscu. The project will start officially in 1929, whereas the work will only begin in June 1930, to be completed by the end of 1935. Its construction is based on the most modern principles of hygiene and logistics, and will echo across Europe. The architect will carry out a study tour in Europe in Vienna and Budapest in the winter of 1913 before starting the project, and two others during its execution. He will in particular visit the halls of Geneva and Basel in Switzerland, those of Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Munich and the halls of Breslau in Germany. It will complete its study by visiting the food floors of department stores in Berlin, the halls of Reims, Lyon and Dieppe in France, the fruit hall of Milan in Italy, and finally in the halls of Budapest in Hungary. In the article he wrote for the French magazine La Construction moderne in September 1936, Toma T. Socolescu details his project, its objectives and the layout and operations of the facility. The Market Hall will eventually become the symbol of the City of Ploiești. Partially affected by the Anglo-American bombardments of 1943-44, it will be consolidated in the 1980s. Its original and modern architecture for the 1930s, but seeking beauty and harmony, will be admired all across Europe. The project was however be close to fail, due to a change of Mayor Ion Georgescu Obrocea who in 1929 gave abusively to another company the responsibility to make the plans and construction, while there was already a contract signed between the architect and the city since 1913. Socolescu challenged successfully this new contract, thanks to the support of his friend the lawyer Grigore Ivănceanu. The whole edifice is Classified Historical Monument. On 27 February 1936, the architect will also officially introduce a wholesale hall construction project. The latter will never be realized.

Central Market Hall

The former Creditul Prahovei.

• Creditul Prahovei at the intersection of bulevard Republicii with strada Take Ionescu, facing what was at that time the central square of the city : Piață Unirii. It later became the Banca Românească. Since the 1990s, the building houses the Banca Comercială Română or BCR. The work was designed around 1923 and probably completed in 1926. Photographs and plans of the bank have been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1926. The building is Classified Historical Monument.
• Cinematograph Scala, still visible (strada Traian Moșoiu). Originally a brewery constructed on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of Ploiești around 1933. Decommissioned and abandoned in the 2000s, the place has been renovated in 2009-2010.

The Scala cinematograph.

• St John the Baptist Cathedral (Catedrala Sfântul Ioan Botezătorul).

In 1912, the architect had worked on the old St John the Baptist church. According to his plans, the main dome was elevated of 5 meters.

The work was carried out between 1923 and 1939, the cathedral honors the dead of the First World War and is part of a national-religious momentum. The steeple is Classified Historical Monument. Only the tower (a 60 meters high bell tower) and the first part of the work were completed, the Second World War has stopped the work. The project for the rest of the building that would replace the existing church with a most monumental work will remain a project until recently. Work has resumed in 2008, inspired with Toma T. Socolescu's plans.

The facade is particularly unique to the time, and two monumental statues lines the entrance. The interior's furniture is remarkable. The pre-project, and the plans of the cathedral, will be published in the 1925 and 1926 issues of the Arhitectura journal.

Cathedral St John the Baptist in Ploiești.

In the Prahova county

• 

  Boys High School of Câmpina.
  Boys high school of Câmpina, located calea Doftanei, at No. 4. Plans were realized and approved by the Ministry of Education in 1926.
  

  Boys High School of Câmpina.
  Its central part as well as the wing facing calea Doftanei were built between 1928 and 1929. The second wing, facing the strada Mihai Eminescu, the Carrare marble staircase, the marble interior ornaments, the carved oak internal doors in the main hall, as well as the wrought iron ones from the outside, were carried out between 1932 and 1942. Damaged by the earthquake of 1940, severely affected by the Anglo-American bombing of 1944 (the Mihai Eminescu wing and the gym will be destroyed), the high school will be quickly but partly put in function. The wing will be rebuilt in 1957-1958. But the earthquake of 4 March 1977, will make the building unusable and will require a reconstruction with a new reinforced concrete structure. Despite these important works, the building has lost neither his style nor his harmony. The building now houses the Nicolae Grigorescu National College formerly named in 1930 Liceul Dimitrie Barbu Stirbey.

Archaeology and heritage conservation

The professor-architect had completed his studies in civil and religious architecture by a specialty in Romanian archaeology. He has always expressed an interest in architectural history and the preservation of architectural heritage. In addition to the renovation of old churches, he will work several times with Nicolae Iorga, Presiding the Historical Monuments Commission from 1919 onwards, in order to protect remarkable ancient edifices.

• Renovation, around 1919, of the house of the boilermaker trader Hagi Prodan, built in 1785. It is regarded as the typical residence of a Ploiești merchant in the 18th and 19th century. Classified Historical Monument, the casa Hagi Prodan will be the first History museum of the City of Ploiești, a museum founded by Toma T. Socolescu. After being renamed and affected to other purposes, the museum is now called Muzeul Casa de Târgoveț din Secolul al XVIII-lea - al XIX-lea.
• Rediscovery and succinct repair of a small and archaic ruined church in Ploeștiori or Ploieștiori in the commune of Blejoi, around 1919-1920, dating from the first half of the 18th century. He will save icons and religious art objects, that he will place in the County Museum. Originally installed in casa Hagi Prodan, the muzeul judetului no longer exists under that name. The location of these objects is unknown in 2010. They may be in one of the museums gathered in 1955 in the Muzeul județean de Istorie și Arheologie Prahova institution, to which the Hagi Prodan House is now attached. In 1929, Socolescu will bring there Nicolae Iorga who will uncover ancient murals hidden beneath the coating. A related article will be written by the historian in the Buletin of the Historical Monuments Commission. The church, baptized Sfantu Visarion church, is Classified Historical Monument. In October 2010, the ruins were completely abandoned and endangered. The land where they are located has been sold in the 1990s by the mayor of the town, to a private owner.
• Archaeological studies and topographic map of the Dobrescu house (Casa Dobrescu) in Ploiești, a typical house of merchants from the beginning of the 19th century. Located at No. 1 of strada Kutuzov, the house became the Ion L. Caragiale Museum on 30 January 1962.
• Sfantu Pantelimon church, located on strada Democrației, at No. 71. The work was done over a period of 24 years between 1912 and 1936, due to lack of funding. The priest Ene Dumitrescu, who was the initiator of the project, had the idea to call Toma T. Socolescu to develop the church reconstruction project. The earthquake of 1940 caused the collapse of the great tower. The one of 1977 damaged the walls. Two phases of reconstruction and consolidation took place in 1946 and between 1977 and 1994, including the renovation of frescoes.
• Sfantu Haralambie church on strada Mărășești, at No. 65. Between 1931 and 1932, important renovations and restorations, as well as exterior embellishments, will be made by the architect. He will radically change the appearance of the church by rebuilding the small towers of the facade and adding a very elaborate brâncovenesc style porch. It also will rebuild a reinforced concrete ceiling. The church has experienced consolidations and changes after the earthquakes of 1940 and 1977. In 1979, the priest in charge of the parish will build a great tower, which existed previously and would have burned in 1925. However, this addition was made without the approval of civil authorities.

Saint Pantelimon church.	Neo-brâncovenesc porch of Saint Haralambie.	Another view of the same porch.
Religious works of Toma T. Socolescu

• Reconstruction in 1937-1938 of the Ploeștiori or Ploieștiori church, on the outskirts of Ploiești, about the Valeni barrier (bariera Văleni), near the Vega refinery. The church has undergone several renovations and rebuilding since the architect work. It already had a concrete structure before 1977, which tower collapsed during the 1977 earthquake. According to the priest in charge of the parish in September 2009, a monograph on the church has been written.
• Partial reconstruction of the Măgula village church in Tomșani commune between 1933 and 1938, under the control of the Commission of Historical Monuments. The new church was inaugurated in November 1938. The altar and the porch of the church are classified historical monuments.
• From 1953 to 1957, in the Department of Historical Monuments, he worked on the restoration of sites and monuments including the Brebu Monastery (Prahova), Huniade Castle of Timișoara, the Church of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen (Sfanta Împărați Constantin și Elena) of Târgoviște, the churches of Ploeștiori or Ploieștiori in Ploiești suburbs and Heresti-Ilfov as well as other Gothic churches of Transylvania.

Other achievements

In Ploiești

• Villa of pharmacist N. Hogaș, brother of the writer Calistrat Hogaș, strada Gh. Lazăr. During its construction, the architect reserved the ceiling of the lounge for the painter Toma Gh. Tomescu, for a future fresco. Built around 1907, the house was destroyed during the Anglo-American bombings of 1943-44. This villa was the first work performed by Toma T. Socolescu.
• Pasapeanu House, a small house built for a civil servant of the Romanian Post service, located on strada I. Romanescu, built around 1908. The street is now called strada Barbu Dela Vrancea. This is the smallest work of the architect.
• House of teacher Aldescu located on strada Vlad Tepes, at No. 31, made around 1908.
• House of priest Zotu, on the București avenue (calea București), near the South Railway Station (Gara de Sud), built around 1908. The priest was expropriated, and the house destroyed by the Communists to make room for the Plants of May 1.
• Rental property of the Alessiu brothers on strada Lipscani probably built about 1910, at the beginning of Strada Lipscani, entirely razed by Communists. It was an old street of Ploiești that was slightly bent from the heart of the city to the courthouse. This main thoroughfare has disappeared in two stages : the first half near the Palace of Culture was demolished between 1968–1969, to make way for the current city administration center. The other half was razed after the 1977 earthquake.
• Orăscu residential house, bulevard Independenței, at No. 18. Scarlat Orăscu was amongst the most significant mayors of Ploiești between 1911 and 1914 and twice elected as senator. Built around 1920 in the Art Nouveau fashionable French style of the time. Its interior was luxurious. The house will be confiscated by the Communists, then turned into popular canteen. It is now a polyclinic for children. The house is Classified Historical Monument.

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The Scarlat Orăscu house

• Europa Hotel, renovation and addition of a floor in collaboration with his uncle Ion N. Socolescu before 1914-1915. The hotel, first called the Victoria Hotel, was originally planned by his grandfather Nicolae Gh. Socol. It will be finally demolished by the Communists in 1960.

Hora țărănească in Ploiești, planned around 1913, destroyed around 1950.

• House of G. Gogălniceanu or Hora țărănească, Piață Unirii, built by Ion N. Socolescu and Toma T. Socolescu shortly before the First World War. Victim of Anglo-American bombings of 1943-44, the house will be demolished in 1950.
• House of B. Nasopol, on strada Ștefan cel Mare, built before the First World War, totally destroyed by the American bombardments of 1943-44 according to the Memoirs of Socolescu. Located at No. 12 of strada Ștefan cel Mare, it housed the Technical Services of the city in 1938. However, there is still an ancient house, outside and inside rather well preserved, that perfectly matches the architect style for its ground floor part. The originally one-storey house, would have been enhanced by a floor, during the communist era.

Villa of Zaharia Leon on strada Drosescu.

• Villa of Zaharia Leon on strada Drosescu. Its construction dates from 1913-1914. The villa has been completely destroyed by the American bombardments of 1943-44. This street is nowadays named strada C.T. Grigorescu. The house that has been built at the same place has partially preserved the wall and gate of the former original fence.
• Villa of Dr. L. Fridman, formerly at the intersection of strada Iennescu and strada Aurel Vlaicu, its address is now strada Maramureș, at No. 8. Built before 1914, it has been nationalized by the Communists. The house is Classified Historical Monument and hosts nowadays the National Department of Highways.

The house of Toma T. Socolescu in Ploiești. His own work.

• Rental property of Toma T. Socolescu, No. 2 of strada Ștefan cel Mare, formerly strada Regina Maria. Built from 1914, the building will be habitable from 1915 and probably totally achieved after World War I. The architect will borrow heavily from banks to achieve it. He installed his office and worked there until the Anglo-American bombings that destroyed it partially in 1944. The construction has been profoundly transformed by the Russians in the 1950s, after its confiscation by the State. The remarkable original facade no longer exists and has been replaced by a much more sober style. Originally the building had 7 shops on the ground floor and 5 apartments available, including that of the architect and his family.
• Rental property of D. Pârvulescu in the old market ('Obor'), strada Émile Zola, at No. 1. Built in the 1920s, it will be nationalized in 1950. The Pârvulescu family will fight from 1996 to 2002 to restore its rights over the property, violated by the Romanian State. The block of houses, where it is located, has escaped from the communist destructions.
• Villa of M. Obrien, on strada Eminescu. Built in the 1920s and destroyed by the Anglo-American bombings of 1943-44.
• Rental property of Gheorghe Bogdan, probably built in 1922 as shown by an inscription in the lobby, it is located on strada Kogălniceanu (formerly strada Franceză), at No. 36. Nationalized, the building was only partially recovered by the Bogdan's heirs. The house is one of the few remnants of an ancient and typical town center of Ploiești, completely razed and rebuilt in a Modern architecture style around 1980.

The Gheorghe Bogdan's building.

• Toboc building on strada Democrației, at No. 1. According to the family of the former owner and other corroborating sources, the building has been designed and made by Toma T. Socolescu. The style is highly reminiscent of the brâncovenesc stylistic guidelines of the architect. On the other hand, the construction resembles the rental house that he had planned for himself, a few years before, on strada Ștefan cel Mare, at No. 2. Achieved between 1920 and 1924 for the printer Dumitru Buta, nicknamed Toboc (squat man in Romanian), the building was nationalized in 1950. Destined for social housing, it is currently fully occupied by tenants since the 1977 earthquake. Also according to the family, the building has been claimed by the heiress who chose financial compensation rather than restitution in kind because it required to keep all tenants. The City is therefore still the owner of this remarkable but degraded building. The construction is part of the list which includes all maximum seismic risk buildings of the town. It may well collapse when the next earthquake occurs, if any consolidation work is not undertaken by the City of Ploiești. The site is curiously not classified as historical monument.

The Toboc building

• House of Grigore Ivănceanu, a former lawyer and friend of the architect, located on Rahovei road, at No. 6. Built around 1920, it will be damaged by Anglo-American bombings of 1943-44, but was rebuilt almost identic by the Ivănceanu family, under the supervision of the Socolescu, after the bombing. Sold in 2008 by Mrs. Alice Ivănceanu, heiress and daughter of the lawyer, the house was completely renovated in 2009 and has preserved much of its original style. A photograph will be published in the Arhitectura journal in en 1925.
• House of Ștefan Z. Ghica Ghiculescu, a major trader and Vice-president of the Ploiești Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1933-1934. Built at No. 4 of strada Italiană in 1927 and perfectly preserved by the Bădulescu-Ghiculescu family, despite confiscation and internal damage during all the communist period. The house has been classified historical monuments on 4 October 2010.

The Ștefan Z. Ghica Ghiculescu house

• Theatre and cinematograph Odeon. Its construction was completed in March 1927. It was already operating as a cinema in 1932. Renamed Rodina cinematograph after its nationalization in 1948, it will shelter from 1955 the Teatrul de Stat din Ploiești. Transformed and modernized a first time by the Communists in 1954, it was still easily recognizable in 1957, after a long renovation work during which the scene was again modernized and its capacity increased to 600 seats. At an unknown later date, perhaps as a result of 4 March 1977 earthquake, it was completely disfigured and buried at the foot of a Soviet-style residential block. It is renamed the Toma Caragiu theater on 6 September 1991.
  

  Odeon theater in 1957.
  The street of the theater has been renamed on many occasions : strada Liceului from the 19th century to the 1920s, strada Dr. I. Radovici until around 1948, strada Gh. Dimitrov from 1948 to the 1960s, strada teatrului until 1996, then endly strada Toma Caragiu since 1996.
• Portal of the Ploiești exhibition center in the 1930s, which later became the hippodrome gate. Destroyed by the American bombardments of 1943-44, the current portal is a pale copy of the original work.
• Luxurious renovation of the ground floor of the Ploiești Central Bank in the 1930s. Affected by the 1977 earthquake, the bank has been razed by the Communists, claiming the impossibility to repair, and thus eliminating the last traces of the historic city center.
• The peasant inn at the Bucov barrier, at No. 2 of the Strada Oborului. Probably one of the last works of architect (1938–1939), it was planned to accommodate the merchants and farmers coming to the opened market. The latter was moved on the outskirts of the town after the construction of the central hall. It was originally surrounded by horses stalls. It is a one-story building Romanian villa-style, with a large terrace in front, carved oak pillars and tiled roof. At the rear of the courtyard stood a large barn for 40 animals and a smaller office building. At the time of the legionnaire regime, it becomes a shelter for refugees from Transylvania. Latter he welcomes the nervous diseases hospital diseases of Cernăuți, evacuated following the Soviet invasion of the Northern Bukovina. He then became officially the "Hospital of the Peasant Inn". Seriously affected by the bombing of 5 April 1944, the hospital was evacuated to Filipeștii de Pădure. A section for the Soviet troops will be opened in October of the same year. In 1951, the department of nervous diseases comes back again. The building will function continuously as an hospital until now (2010).
• Family grave of the Gheorghiu family in the Viișoara cemetery. A picture has been published in Arhitectura in 1925. The tomb still existed in 2009, unfortunately changed and degraded.
• According to some sources the Memorial to the heroes of World War I in the Bolovani cemetery would have been done by architect Toma T. Socolescu. Partially destroyed by the American bombardments of 1943-44, it will be rebuilt, but the bronze eagle which covered the top has never been rebuilt. A melting project exists within the Association of War Veterans from Prahova.

In the Prahova county

• Manor of Gérard Joseph Duqué in Păulești, on the southern border of the town with the City of Ploiești, built from 1920 to 1935. The house was commissioned by the lawyer Obrocea Ion Georgescu, then transferred to Gérard Duqué for repayment of debts, it was redesigned by architect according to the wishes of the new owner. The mansion has undergone many changes and simplifications since its construction. Only parts typical still bear witness to the creation of the architect.

T. T. Socolescu school.

• Town Hall, primary school, public baths, small maternity, stables and carved wood Trinity memorial of the Păulești commune. The works were completed between 1937 and 1944. The stables have become a bakery. The memorial was moved to the village cemetery.
• Two houses for some family members I. Diamandescu, a major oilman and Costică Dușescu built around 1907 in Câmpina.
• Villa of D. Ștefănescu, Câmpina. Designed in 1916 but built some years later on, the outside appearance of the house has been slightly changed. It is still there on bulevard Carol I, at No. 112. A 1916 issue of the Arhitectura journal exhibits plans and sketches of the villa.

D. Ștefănescu Villa around 1930.

• Voiculescu Pharmacy, Câmpina. It was demolished after the 1977 earthquake.
• Villa of Dr. Gheorghiu, Câmpina. The villa in unchanged, on bulevard Carol I, crossing with aleea rozelor.

Villa of Dr Gheorgiu.

• Villa of Nicolae Popescu, Câmpina, around 1933. The villa is in very good condition and well preserved.
• Courthouse of Câmpina, located on strada 1 Decembrie 1918, at No. 14. The plans have been drawn around 1924. In 1931 the construction was completed and the Judecatoria de Pace Mixta Campina begins its operations. The building still shelters the Judecatoria as well as the Prefecture offices.
• Courthouse of Vălenii de Munte, located on strada Mihai Bravu at No. 26. Built from 1923, the construction is nowadays in good shape (outside) but abandoned.
• House of Nicolae Iorga in Vălenii de Munte, restoration between 1907 and 1908.
• House of his friend the painter Toma Gh. Tomescu in Vălenii de Munte about 1926-1927. Modest home, its original appearance has changed over the years. It is located at No. 12 of strada Mihai Eminescu.
• Mortuary chapel of Toma Gh. Tomescu's family in Vălenii de Munte, built around 1938-1939. The painter will create and execute the murals. Baptised Holly Triniy chapel, it now serves as a chapel for the town cemetery.
• Royal villa in Vălenii de Munte. Under the decision of Nicolae Iorga, the construction of a summer villa for the Princess Elena and young Prince Michael will be planned and carried by the architect. The laying of the cornerstone was opened by Nicolae Iorga 15 July 1930 in his presence and also in presence of the princess and the Minister of Finance Mihai Popovici. A section plan is visible in the 1930 edition of the Arhitectura journal. The project will not be fully realized and the villa will eventually have a use different from what had been decided upon its creation. The villa has completely disappeared, destroyed by the Communists after the 1977 earthquake.
• Villa of Nicolae Iorga in Sinaia, built around 1918, and Classified Historical Monument, the house, located on strada Gheorghe Doja, at No. 1, is perfectly preserved by the historian family. It is located at the intersection of calea Codrului and strada Gheorghe Doja, in the Furnica district.
• Villa of lawyer Grigore Ivănceanu in Sinaia, located on strada Piatra Arsă at No. 4. It now belongs to his daughter Alice Ivănceanu.
• Villa of N. Scorțeanu in Sinaia, in the Cumpătu district. A photograph of the house has been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1925.
• Villa C. I. Ionescu in Sinaia.
• Villa Al. Radovici in Sinaia, transformations.
• Town Hall of Sinaia, renovation.
• Villa of Florica Socolescu, in Sinaia, built in 1925. Located in Sinaia-Cumpătu at No. 22 of strada Cumpătu. It was built by Toma T. Socolescu for his wife Florica. The house would have been sold at the end of the 1940s by the architect. Renovated in the 2000s, it has barely changed. Photographs and an inside plan of the villa have been published in 1925 and 1941 in the Arhitectura journal.

The villa in 1925.	The villa in 2009.	Neo-brâncovenesc balcony.	The main door.
Florica Socolescu villa

• Town Hall, public baths and agricultural center of Urlați, which construction started before 1916.

Royal house, Vălenii de Munte (plan).

• Monument of the Trinity, in carved wood, for the town of Dumbrăvești. It no longer exists.
• Izvoarele church, built from 1931.
• Assumption's church (Adormirea Maicii Domnului) in the town of Scăeni, built between 1936 and 1938, published in the Arhitectura journal in March 1938. The roof and towers of the church have been profoundly altered several times since 1941. The edifice suffered all the earthquakes since that of 1940, the area being especially seismic. From two originally massive towers (front and rear of the building), the church has kept only one, the latter being replaced by two small ones. The original aesthetic of the work has disappeared.
• Houses of engineer Toma Călinescu (strada Monumentului, No. 1) and teacher Emil Popescu (strada Armoniei, No. 1), again in the Boldești-Scăeni commune.

In Bucharest

• Rental property on strada Brâncoveanu.
• Rental property on calea Șerban Vodă. It is still visible, at No. 105. Built on the same model as the " Gheorghe Bogdan " house of Ploiești. The apartment house is unfortunately disfigured by unsightly modern windows, a partial rough concreting of the railing of the main balcony, originally built in wrought iron, as well as large picture windows destroying the harmony the architect had imagined. The two entrances on the ground floor have also been simplified, losing completely their original style. A photograph of the building was published in the Arhitectura journal in 1924, probably shortly after its construction.

The Tilman brothers building in Bucharest, around 1925.

• Tilman brothers building. Before the communist period, it was located on Carol street, No. 54, at the intersection of strada Carol and strada Filittis. Nowadays it is at the intersection of strada Filitti and strada Tonitza, near Piață Națiunile Unite (United Nations Plaza), then called Piață Senatului (Senate Plaza). The apartment house was probably built between 1923 and 1925. The construction has lost a piece of his upper front sprocket, thereby losing its poise and beauty. Presumably, the earthquake of 1940 or 1977 brought down the superstructure or severely damaged it.

D. Ionescu villa, Bucarest.

• Villa on strada Mitropolit Antim Ivireanul, published in the Arhitectura journal in 1924. Part of the street was razed in the 1980s for the needs of the Nicolae Ceaușescu's People Palace demential project. The villa has very likely been destroyed on that occasion.
• House of Engineer Al. Gheorghiade, located in the parcul Bonaparte. The park is located within a triangle bounded by the strada Paris, the șoseaua Iancu de Hunedoara (formerly șoseaua Bonaparte) and the calea Dorobantilor. A photograph of the house has been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1926 and 1941 issues.
• Villa D. Ionescu, built in 1927 on strada Mihai Cogalniceanu (there is also the spelling Kogălniceanu), șoseaua Kiseleff. The street is now called Gheorghe Brătianu. The villa is located at No. 26. Two pictures of the house have been published in the Arhitectura journal in 1930. It is Classified Historical Monument.

In other counties

• Boys High School of the railway station in Buftea (Ilfov County). It is located on bulevard Mihai Eminescu, at No. 76. Its exact name (in 2009) is Buftea Barbu Știrbei Economic High School.
• Sfantu Nicolae și Alexandru church of Netezești, Cummune of Nuci (Ilfov county), on strada Principală near the City Hall. The construction and the interior (all furniture) were probably made between 1912 and 1916. It is Classified Historical Monument. Netezești church, religious foundation of the Al. Serghiescu family was erected at the expense of Mrs. Al Serghiescu in fairly good conditions and even a luxury, both for construction and for furniture, as well as paintings executed under the guidance of painter Pavlu with performers like many young artists of outstanding talent from which I quote Tonitza, St. Dumitrescu, Schweitzer-Cumpana, Bălțatu, then only 16 years old, and others.

Attributed works (non-exhaustive list)

Toma T. Socolescu was very appreciated and in high demand to imagine the homes of prominent families in Romania. His writings, where he systematically stood in the background, demonstrate an obvious modesty and it appears with certainty. He deliberately failed to list a number of works he has authored. Moreover, concerns related to the communist regime political police (Securitate) he was victim of, have probably pushed not to mention in his memoirs some places, for fear of harming other families. The Securitate was particularly fierce against the wealthy families of the interwar and did found any excuse to seize private property or to jail the people it disliked.

This part therefore aims at presenting a series of houses or buildings which style and signature recalls vividly to the know-how and the style of the famous architect. Besides, it seems that Toma T. Socolescu signed his works on the rooftops by a stylized reversed lily often made of zinc or copper. Wherever the original roof has not been modified, this unique signature is visible.

Finally, not to report these probabilities would be risking full oblivion for these houses in a country where access to the archives is very difficult, and where since the 1990s, an uncontrolled real estate sector ravages centuries of architecture. Moreover, the disappearance of former owners, often physically eliminated by the Communists, was frequently accompanied by a very likely irretrievable loss of useful information and documentation to identify with certainty the origin of these buildings.

• House on strada Nicolae Bălcescu, at No. 10, Ploiești.
• House on strada Cantacuzino, at No. 120 (crossing with strada Traian), Ploiești, built in 1924.
• House on strada Cantacuzino, at No. 17, Ploiești.

strada Nicolae Bălcescu, No. 10.

strada Cantacuzino, No. 17.

strada Cantacuzino, No. 120.

• House on strada Constanței, at No. 3, Ploiești.
• House on strada Constanței, at No. 7, Ploiești.
• Twin houses on strada Decebal, at No. 34 and on strada Primaveri at No. 33, Ploiești. They were the property of Tănase Vasilescu, an oil magnate from Păulești.

Entry of house on strada Constanței, No. 3.

strada Constanței, No. 3.

strada Primaveri, No. 33.

strada Constanței, No. 7.

Remarkable roof of house on strada Constanței, No. 7.

Unbuilt architectural works

On the ten contests won by the architect, only two were achieved : the Creditul Prahovei and, partially, the Palace of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, both in Ploiești. In addition, many outstanding projects have never been done, including the following topics :

• Project for South-East European Institute under the leadership of Professor Nicolae Iorga, probably around 1910.
• Church project in Slănic realised during the 1913 summer and exposed at the Romanian Athenaeum of Bucarest in spring 1916. It will be published in the Arhitectura journal in 1920.
• Public garden project on the Piață Unirii in Ploiești, whose study will be offered free by the architect to the city in 1922. Despite Socolescu's initiative, who first had the idea of this layout, and despite his two different plans presented to the City Council, the Mayor Ion Georgescu Obrocea will choose the plan of another architect. The garden will be inaugurated in 1926.
• Wholesale covered market project in Ploiești, imagined behind the Central Market Hall, in 1936.
• Palace of Culture project for Ploiești in 1937. The building renamed "Palace of Culture" since 1953, is none other than the former courthouse built by architects Toma T. Socolescu and Ernest Doneaud.
• Churches Projects for Predeal (around 1956), with his son Toma Barbu Socolescu, and for the Păulești commune (1939).
• Town hall Project for Făgăraș.

Publications

• In Mihai Sevastos monograph on the City of Ploiești, Monografia orașului Ploești, 1937, the architect wrote the entire chapters on the city's architecture, the Central Market hall, the urbanism, the city plans history as well as the culture (visual artists, museums and the "Nicolae Iorga" library). Some of his watercolors and drawings are also included.
• In the Buletin of the Committee on Historical Monuments (BCMI), numerous articles including 3 remarkable ones :

1. Sfantu Nicolae church of Bălteni, county of Ilfov, archaeological studies and topographic map. Published in 1908 in the first issue (Q1) under the title Architectural notes, pages 114 to 119.
2. Casa Hagi Prodan in Ploiești, archaeological studies and topographic map. Published in 1916 in the latest issue before the war. Having suffered from the bombings of 1944, the house was restored and the museum re-inaugurated on 1 May 1953.
3. Casa Dobrescu in Ploiești, a typical house of merchants and small manufacturers from the beginning of the 19th century, archaeological studies and topographic map.

• In the Arhitectura journal from 1916 to 1944 :

1. Many illustrated articles on Romanian architecture.
2. Portraits of disappeared architects including Ion N. Socolescu, Alexandru Clavel, D. Herjeu and Toma N. Socolescu.
3. Note de drum din Italia (Travel notes in Italy). A 7 pages illustrated article published in the issue of 1925.
4. Plans and photographs of finished works, drawings and watercolors of old Romanian constructions. The issue of January–March 1941 contains an article dedicated to the old Romanian art in Bessarabia, illustrated on several pages with his own waterpaintings.
5. A profession of faith entitled Principles and improvements, Towards a Romanian modern architecture in the April–June 1941 issue. The author defends a notion of an art concerned with preserving the national cultural wealth, and the Romanian national genius, while seeking progress and modernity. The architect refutes any idea of international architecture. The same year, he will publish this article in a French version.
6. An article defending the idea of creating an institute dedicated to the promotion and development of the Romanian architecture : " An institute of Romanian architecture ", in the issue of 1943-1944.

Old house of Ploiești, (Județul Prahova, Romania) as it was until the beginning of the 20th century.

• In the Simetria journal : one article on the Romanian architects who studied at the Beaux-Arts de Paris.
• In the România Viitoare journal :

1. Travel notes on Romania and Italy.
2. Literary articles on Anna de Noailles, the Countess of Noailles (Brâncoveanu), Auguste Rodin, Octavian Goga, etc.
3. Studies on some old houses and historical monuments of Ploiești, including in 1915 :

- an article about the ruins of the Saint Nicolas the Old church or Sfantu Nicolae Vechi (strada Mihai Bravu, 105) - an article about an old house, similar to the Hagi Prodan house's style, located on strada Ștefan cel Mare, in front of the Saints Voivods (Sfînții Voevozi) church. The church is at No. 23.

• A personal publication Prin Ardeal, note de drum ale unui arhitect, illustrated. The travel journal is also included in its memoirs Amintiri, pages 96–104 of the book published by "Caligraf".
• In the Biblioteca Urbanistă collection, two volumes of translations with introductory studies and illustrations :

1. " Urbanism la îndemâna tuturor : pentru uzul consilierilor comunali și județeni, arhitecților, inginerilor, medicilor, ofițerilor, agronomilor și al tuturor persoanelor ce se interesează de mai buna stare a orașului " of Jean Raymond.

2. " Igiena urbană / published by Paul Juillerat ", the translation of a reference book, published in 1921 in Paris, on the subject of urban hygiene.

• About the specific topic of the Central Hall of Ploiești, the masterpiece of T. Toma Socolescu, numerous articles appeared in various European journals :

Ploiești Central Hall Pre-projet (1913) of Toma T. Socolescu, far from the final version adopted in 1929.

1. Romania : two issues of the Arhitectura journal, that of 1931-1933 and of July 1936, propose a long article as well as numerous photographs; the article published in July 1936 also appears in Monografia orașului Ploești between pages 597 and 603, as well as on pages 96 to 101 from the book Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric written by Toma T. Socolescu; in Ploieștii : on 21 April 1929, an article entitled " The building of the halls ", about a legal dispute over the Central Market Hall construction contract - in 1936, another article about a laudatory publication in the French magazine Techniques des Travaux; and Revista Veterinară.
2. France : L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Paris, year 7, No. 11, November 1936, pages 44–45; Techniques des Travaux; La Construction moderne : an illustrated study on the Central Market Hall of Ploiești, Paris, year 51, No. 46, September 1936, pages 945 to 955 written by the architect himself.
3. United Kingdom : The Architect, London.
4. Germany : Der Bauingenieur, Berlin, 26 May 1933, No. 14, Jahrgang, 1933, Heft 21-22.
5. Austria : A study by Professor Dr. Ing. R. Saliger and Dr. Ing. Friedrich V. Baravalle, Vienna

Newspaper articles

He published numerous articles in the Ploiești, Iași and Bucharest newspapers on issues like architecture, town planning, local politics and culture. He was also the subject of numerous articles. The following list is not exhaustive, and states when the architect is not the author.

• Cronica (literary magazine), Bucharest, 22 May 1916, an article entitled " About the exhibition of architect T. T. Socolescu " (architecture exhibition of Toma T. Socolescu at the Romanian Athenaeum of Bucharest in spring 1916) signed by the architect Spiridon Cegăneanu.
• Dimineața, Bucharest, " Approaching the municipal elections " of Ploiești, 15 May 1929; " Celebrating the architect Toma T. Socolescu ", published on 12 July 1925, about the celebration in Ploiești of the first prize won by Toma T. Socolescu for a major architecture contest : the Palace of the capital Town hall. The article includes an interview with the architect.
• Epoca, Bucharest, 24 May 1916, an art column written by Criticus about the painting and architecture exhibition of Toma G. Tomescu and Toma T. Socolescu at the Romanian Athenaeum of Bucharest.
• Excelsior, Iași, " The main roads " an article written on 7 January 1939 about the poor quality of main roads in Romania; " The traffic and accidents ", an article dated 12 August 1939; " The development of fruits " about the development of fruit production in August 1939.
• Gazeta carților (literary magazine), Bucharest, " Architecture in Ploiești, Historical study by Toma T. Socolescu ", an article in the January / February 1938 issue, written by D. M. Rîmnic about the release of the book; " Memories of Octavian Goga ", an obituary on the writer, poet, journalist, playwright and politician Octavian Goga published in June 1938; " The need to create an institute of Romanian architecture ", written in January 1944. The later will also be published in the Arhitectura journal in 1943-1944.
• Neamul românesc, Bucharest, publication in November 1938 of a letter sent by the architect to Nicolae Iorga, entitled " Architecture is learned in the workshops, not at the chair "; " Aedileship ... ", 27 May 1937, by Nicolae Iorga criticizing the inertia of the municipality of Ploiești facing the development of shacks and garbage behind the Central Market Hall. The article contrasts the devotion and work of Toma T. Socolescu for the city.
• Opinia liberă (journal), Ploiești, " Restoration of Ploiești ", a lengthy discussion challenging projects of reconstruction of Dr. Mircea Botez, that was published in No. 72 and 73 of the newspaper Presa, published in the issuer No. 15, 1946; " A final word on the issue of the Central Market ", article in defense of his work and the Central Market, disparaged and criticized by Dr. Botez in the newspaper Presa.
• Prahova, Ploiești, " The archpriest Nae Vasilescu ", 1 March 1935, obituary, " The Nicolae Iorga Popular Library ", in July 1935.
• Prahova Noastră, Ploiești, " The festivities of Paulesti ", 21 May 1939; " A friend has left us : Victor Rădulescu ", mayor of Câmpina (1926–1928), obituary of 2 July 1939; " Costică Marinescu (stair joiner) ", obituary in tribute to the master, issued in February 1942; " The forecasts of V. Blasco Ibanez ", on the Spanish author : Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, 10 May 1942; " The street names of Ploiești ", an open letter to the mayor on the relevance of street names, 20 May 1943.
• Presa, Ploiești, " Backing M. I. A. Bassabarescu ", an open letter to support the reconstruction of the house of the teacher-writer, destroyed by bombing, published on 14 February 1945; " Reconstruction of High School Saint Peter and Paul ", on 21 February 1945.
• Propășirea (literary magazine), Iași, " From the past of Ploiești, houses and store dealers - On the occasion of the 50 years Jubilee of the Moțoiu firm " published on 4 March 1929.
• România, Bucharest, " The main roads ", another article written on July 1938 focused on the inadequacy of main roads in Romania.
• Virtutea, " About the need of a civic council ", a political article written on 28 March 1929.

Painting and architecture exhibitions

• Organization in the spring of 1916 of an exhibition of architectural projects, watercolor and church furniture in the Romanian Athenaeum of Bucharest. The painter Toma Gh. Tomescu, friend of the architect, exhibited his oils and watercolors. Almost all the paintings of the architect and Tomescu were purchased. The architect Spiridon Cegăneanu, one of the founders, with Ion Mincu, of the Neo-Romanian style, wrote an article in the Cronica journal, including the projects of the architect. This was the first and only exhibition of Toma Gh. Tomescu.

Watercolor painted by Toma T. Socolescu then transferred to the Museum of the City of Ploiești in the years 1920-1930. Subject : House of Ion Petre said Boiangiul, located in Ploiești, strada Ulierului.

• Toma T. Socolescu won first prize for his Central Market Hall project at the official Architecture Exhibition of 1930, as well as for two additional projects at the 1933 Architecture and Decorative Arts Exhibition.

Sources

• (French) and (Romanian) Socolescu family's archives (Paris, Bucharest) including a photographic collection.
• (Romanian) Manuscripts of the memoirs of Toma T. Socolescu, Amintiri, written between 1949 and 1959.
• (Romanian) Manuscripts of Fresca arhitecților care au lucrat în România în epoca modernă 1800 - 1925 of Toma T. Socolescu, written between 1949 and 1954.
• (Romanian) Historical Study of Toma T. Socolescu on the City of Ploiești : Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric, printer : Cartea Ramânească, București, Prefaced by Nicolae Iorga, 1938, reference : 16725, 111 pages.
• (Romanian) Monografia orașului Ploești, Mihai Sevastos, Editura : Cartea Ramânească, București, 1938, 1 vol., 905 pages.
• (Romanian) Gérard Joseph Duqué, traversandu-și epoca (1866–1956), Vincent G. Duqué et Paul D. Popescu, book about the life of Gérard Joseph Duqué Editura Ploiești Milenium III, Ploiești, 2006, 1 vol., 189 pages, ISBN 973-87924-5-2 and ISBN 978-973-87924-5-6.
• (Romanian) Comuna Păulești Județul Prahova - Scurtă monografie, Ing. Constantin Ilie, monograph about the Păulești comune,Editura Ploiești Milenium III, Ploiești, 2005, 1 vol., 103 pages, ISBN 973-87051-3-4.
• (Romanian) Bicericile din Ploiești, I Bisericile orthodoxe, Constantin Trestioreanu, Gheorghe Marinică, Editura Ploiești Milenium III, Ploiești, 2003, 203 pages, ISBN 973-85670-4-1.
• (Romanian) Monografia orașului Boldești-Scăieni, Cristian Petru Bălan, Editura Premier, Ploiești, 2007, 253 pages, ISBN 978-973-740-062-8.
• (Romanian) Official documents of the Romanian institutions.
• (Romanian) Library of the Ion Mincu Architecture and Urbanism University.
• (Romanian) Central University Library of Bucharest - and particularly numerous issues of the Romanian architecture journal Arhitectura.
• (French) Le style national roumain - Construire une nation à travers l'architecture 1881-1945, Carmen Popescu, Presses Universitaires de Rennes - Simetria, Rennes, 2004, 1 vol., 375 pages, ISBN 2-86847-913-8, (Simetria : ISBN 973-85821-8-0).
• (Romanian) Constantin Ilie, civil and industrial engineer, construction technical expert for 35 years. Born in 1929 in Păulești, M. Ilie knew personally Toma T. Socolescu. Since 2004 until now, he is studying his work.
• (French) Vincent Gérard Duqué, grandson of Gérard Joseph Duqué, Ploiești. The grandfather of Mr. Duqué was a friend of the architect. Both were active members of the Rotary Club of the city.
• (Romanian) Lucian Vasile, History student at the History University, University of Bucharest, inhabitant and native of Ploiești, author of RepublicaPloiesti.net. Facebook page : Lucian Vasile on Facebook.
• (Romanian) Prahova County Department of National Archives.

Bibliography

• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Amintiri, Editura Caligraf Design, Bucarest, 2004, 1 vol., 237 pages, ISBN 973-86771-0-6.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Fresca arhitecților care au lucrat în România în epoca modernă, Editura Caligraf Design, Bucarest, 2004, 1 vol., 209 pages, ISBN 973-86771-1-4.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric, Editura : Cartea Ramânească, București, Prefaced by Nicolae Iorga, 1938, 111 pages, reference : 16725. The book includes most of the chapters written by the architect for the Monograph of the city of Ploiești, by Mihai SEVASTOS.
• (Romanian) SEVASTOS Mihai, Monografia orașului Ploești, Editura : Editura: Cartea Românească, București, 1938, 1 vol., 905 pages. Toma T. Socolescu is one of the authors of the monograph. He wrote the chapters devoted to architecture, the Central Market Hall, urban planning, the city maps history, and culture (visual artists, museums and the "Nicolae Iorga" library).
• (French) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Vers une architecture roumaine moderne, Extrait du Bulletin de l'Ecole Polytechnique de Bucarest, XII-e année, No. 1 and 2, Tipărire Finanțe Si Industrie, strada Poetul Mecedonschi No. 8, București, 1941, 5 pages.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Prin Ardeal, note de drum ale unui arhitect, including illustrations, Editura : Cartea Românească, Biblioteca România viitoare No. 5, Ploiești, 1923, 32 pages, illustrations, 16 cm.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Romanian translation and introductory study of the French book written by Jean Raymond L'urbanisme à la portée de tous, under the Romanian title Urbanism la îndemâna tuturor : pentru uzul consilierilor comunali și județeni, arhitecților, inginerilor, medicilor, ofițerilor, agronomilor și al tuturor persoanelor ce se interesează de mai buna stare a orașului, Jean Raymond, R. Dautry, Biblioteca Urbanistă collection, Editura municipiului Ploiești : Cartea Românească, 1927, 172 pages, illustrations, figures, tables, 19 cm.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Translation and introductory study of Paul Juillerat's book L'hygiène urbaine, under the Romanian title : Igiena urbană, Paul Juillerat, Biblioteca Urbanistă collection, Editura municipiului Ploiești : Cartea Românească, unknown publication date.
• (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Monografie Ion Mincu, București, 408 pages, (vol. I); 69 pages : illustrations; 32 cm (vol. II), ref : II166.
• (French) POPESCU Carmen, Le style national roumain - Construire une nation à travers l'architecture 1881-1945, Presses Universitaires de Rennes - Simetria, Rennes, 2004, 1 vol., 375 pages, ISBN 2-86847-913-8, (Simetria : ISBN 973-85821-8-0).

Notes and references

• (a) (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric, Editura : Cartea Românească, București, Prefaced by Nicolae Iorga, 1938, 111 pages, reference : 16725.

• (b) (Romanian) SOCOLESCU Toma T., Memoirs of Toma T. Socolescu and book of Toma T. Socolescu : Amintiri, Editura Caligraf Design, Bucarest, 2004, 1 volume, 237 pages.

• (c) (Romanian) SEVASTOS Mihai, Monografia orașului Ploești, Editura : Cartea Românească, București, 1938, 905 pages.

• (d) (Romanian) SOCIETY OF ROMANIAN ARCHITECTS (SAR), architecture journal Arhitectura, published from 1906 to 1944.

• Other references :

External links

• (Romanian) RepublicaPloiesti.net is a site specializing in architectural history of the City of Ploiești. It contains numerous photographs of the city taken between the beginning of the twentieth and 1945. Several works of Toma T. Socolescu are presented.
• (Romanian) Atunci și acum Blog allows comparison, over several Romanian cities, of yesterday and today's streets views and houses.
• Historic Houses of Romania. A reference site on the finest Romanian homes, created by Valentin Mandache, Romanian architectural heritage expert. The site has also a Romanian version : Case de Epoca.
• (Romanian) Four Romanian sites mainly dedicated to the history and architecture of the ancient Bucharest

- Bucureștii Vechi si Noi

- Bucureștii Vechi locuri si istorie

- locuri în București...și istorii despre ele

- Unknown Bucharest

• (Romanian) County Museum of History and Archeology of Ploiești.
• (Romanian) Ministry of Culture and National Heritage : October 2010 list of all historical monuments of Romania.
• (Romanian) National Institute of Historical Monuments : Institutul National Al Monumentelor Istorice

- Official list of historical monuments of Prahova county : Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2004.

- Official appendix of corrections regarding the Official list of historical monuments of Prahova county : Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2004 - Modificări Si Completări.

- Official list of historical monuments of Ilfov county : Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2004.

- Official list of historical monuments of Bucharest : Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2004.

• Internet site describing all historical monuments in Romania : Asociatia Prietenii MNIR.
• By the law of 21 December 2005 was established in Romania an official institution to investigate the crimes of communism. It is also allowed to refer before a court in sentencing and reparation : Institute for Research into Crimes of Communism in Romania. The destruction of the national heritage is also considered as a crime.
• (Romanian) Library of the Ion Mincu Architecture and Urbanism University.
• (French) Paris, Palais de Chaillot, Database of all scanned journals from the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine.
• Association ProPatrimonio for safeguarding the architectural heritage of Romania.
• (Romanian) Salvați Bucureștiul (Save Bucharest) : an association that fights to preserve Bucharest against the frequent destruction of its historical heritage.