Toma N. Socolescu

Born in 1848 in Ploiești, the son of Niculae Gheorghe Socol, a prominent neoclassical 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. 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 1880 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. 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. Toma T. Socolescu, recalls in his memoirs his extreme closeness to the craftsmen, who consider him one of their own. Thus, as a master builder and contractor, carrying out the designs of other architects, he built schools, hospitals, high schools, and barracks. A tireless worker, he also possessed a strong artistic sensibility. A skilled draftsman and watercolorist, he also enjoyed creating and crafting decorative handmade objects in glazed terracotta, as well as traditional Romanian stoves, in his own home. 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. 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. He was one of about twenty signatories, including Ion Mincu, 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 . He died at the age of 48 on November 22, 1897, in , having accomplished a substantial body of work, He enrolled in the school on December 23, 1867, and completed his studies in 1870, after receiving a classical academic education. His diploma is signed by King Carol I himself. Romanian architects were then trained in the spirit of classical architecture. Neoclassicism was adopted in Wallachia and Moldavia as early as the 18th century, 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. • Founding member of the Society of Romanian Architects, created around February 16, 1891. He was the only one of the founders to practice architecture in . • Judicial expert in construction, at the Prahova County Court, around 1890 around 1890. • Awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania on February 21, 1884. 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, 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. 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.", 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 [...]". Around 1846, five 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, 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, 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. , by , ''. 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. 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. 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. 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, between 1875 and 1880, located at 12, . It is in neoclassical style, also marked by the influence of contemporary German Baroque. The three traditional-style towers are of Russian inspiration. Many Russian soldiers, present during the Russo-Turkish conflict, contributed to its construction. Its inside walls are frescoed by the painter Gheorghe Tattarescu, then spelled: Tătărăscu. • Plans of cemetery chapel in 1880, when the cemetery bearing the same name was founded. from 1894, located at the intersection of , and streets. The architect was inspired by the Episcopal church of Curtea de Argeș, known at the time as the most beautiful monument in the country but also by the style of his brother . The building's interior is decorated by the then-famous church painter: . The work was not completed until 1902. • He drew up the plans and built the Palace of Public Baths on the commission of , between 1877 and 1878, between 1877 and 1979. The baths, later renamed Municipal Baths, were then sold to the city. Inaugurated in 1881, they were a symbol admired by residents. They remained in operation until after the Second World War, housing the baths, but also, by period, part of the classes of the high school, a typographic workshop and other institutions, such as the Nicolae Iorga Library from 1921 until 1941. The palace was destroyed by the communists in 1955 and replaced by dull, styleless housing blocks. on (at the time), built in 1886. Classified as a historic monument, It is located at 22 and housed a public administration until 2023: the Urban Management Services of the city of (SGU), which left the building to allow for its consolidation. These works are part of a program funded under the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) since October 2022. However, Romania has so far been unable to access the many European funds made available to it (including the PNRR), not only due to the incompetence of the Romanian administration and successive governments, but also because of the failure to implement all the reforms required for their disbursement. As of August 31, 2025, part of the funds may be permanently lost by Romania. As of June 2025, no work has yet started on this building. • Plans and construction of Boys' elementary school "Number 3", in 1888, one of the city's oldest elementary schools, then located at the corner of (or ) streets, and lieutenant street, known formerly as street. It now houses a kindergarten at 58 street, at the intersection with street. • The fish market, in 1880, under the mandate of Mayor Constantin T. Grigorescu. It was demolished to make way for the construction of the Central Halls of Ploiești, the major work of his son . • The Grand Hotel , as well as the adjacent theater hall, completed on October 15, 1885. They will be demolished following the 1977 earthquake, as part of the communist Systematization program established for the city in 1968. • ' hotel, in 1896, which was his last work. It was located on Union Square ('), with stores on the first floor and rooms upstairs. After the First World War, it was leased by Prahova's financial administration. Prahova. It has been moved several times over the years, it is now located on the Place des Héros, in front of the (), built by his son Toma T. Socolescu. It became an important symbol of the city following the political turbulence of 1870. It was long neglected and hidden away by the Communists. Badly deteriorated in the 2000s, The statue is classified as a historical monument. Houses and shops • The new 's house. Classified as a historic monument, it became the headquarters of the oil company Concordia in the 1930s, then the headquarters of the municipal police in the 2000s. It can still be seen at no. 21, . • 's house, • Property at the intersection of street and street, in 1870, a large merchant house with shops on the ground floor and residential space on the upper floor. The corner of the building features a frontispiece decorated with a bas-relief depicting two lions and a bust of Michael the Brave, the Wallachian prince credited with the strong development of the city, whose memory is often commemorated on old buildings or writings related to Ploiești. • He designed the plans and built many of the one-story shops on street, a historic and emblematic thoroughfare and commercial hub of the city, • 's house, in 1884. it become house, located at 19, boulevard. Achievements as Master builder & contractor • The '''' girl high school, on street, in 1890, according to his brother 's project. Transformed into a military hospital during World War II from 1941 to 1943, the school was finally destroyed by the American bombardments of April 1944. • Reconstruction of the Hospital in 1893, located on street. The hospital was originally founded in 1831 by the boyar intendant of the same name, . The reconstruction was carried out based on plans by architect Filip Xenopol. • The Number Two schools for boys and girls started in 1876, completed and consecrated in 1884, it is located in the center of the town of Urlați. The painter Gheorghe Tattarescu decorated it with numerous remarkable icons. • Restoration of the old Câmpina town hall, circa 1880, and the city's central boulevard, Carol I boulevard. It was demolished in 1922, and another city hall was built on the same site. Achievements as Master builder & contractor • '''' trade school of , since renamed . Vasile Paapa (1819-1884), acting minister in 1861, was a great philanthropist and made numerous donations to Ploiesti schools. He entirely funded the "trade School" as well as the elementary school. • '''' primary school of village located on Dealul Spirii, in the middle of the historic Uranus district, completely razed by Ceausescu, to build the gigantic and much-contested “People's Palace”. In other counties Achievements as Master builder & contractor • '''' agriculture school of Armășești, == Legacy ==

"Until 1944, a large part of the most beautiful streets of , as well as the city's emblematic monuments for which he was responsible, profoundly shaped the face of the city, to which had brought a French- and Italian-inspired neoclassical touch. The Neo-Romanian style was added to this ensemble, largely represented by the work of his son Toma T. Socolescu, a major builder in and throughout the county. Buildings in the Art deco and even Bauhaus styles also appeared. The American bombings of 1944 destroyed one-eighth of the buildings and permanently disrupted the city's harmony and architectural eclecticism. The 1940 earthquake and 1977 also dealt heavy blows to the buildings in Prahova, including several by . However, the most significant destruction was carried out by the communists, who completed the disfigurement of the city between 1960 and 1989 through two waves of systematization. The largest campaign was ordered by Nicolae Ceaușescu, the last communist dictator. These sweeping demolition operations often used the alleged weakening of buildings by the 1977 earthquake as a pretext to eliminate them—along with the face of an era that evoked all too clearly a triumphant, educated bourgeoisie and the defiant expression of a period the new regime was determined to erase. Several churches and public buildings by the architect still remain, as well as a street: ''''. == Bibliography ==

• Official documents from Romanian institutions, including the official Romanian newspaper (Monitorul Oficial). • and family archives (Paris, Bucarest) including a photographic collection. • , Historian, Senior Advisor at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) since 2025, former Expert and head of department at the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), president of the Association for Education and Urban Development (AEDU), author of the specialized site on the city of and its history : RepublicaPloiesti.net. == External links ==

• (a) . • (b) • (c) • (d) • (e) • (f) RepublicaPloiesti.net, , historian, senior advisor at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) since 2025, former expert and head of department at the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), president of the Association for Education and Urban Development (AEDU), creator (August 2009) and author of the website dedicated to the city's history and architecture • Other notes and references: