Toma T. Socolescu

Toma T. Socolescu (20 July 1883 in Ploiești – 14 October 1960 in Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian architect. He was one of the influencers of Romanian architecture from the early 20th century through World War II. He devoted his whole life to his region of Prahova and particularly to the city of Ploiești. He will also contribute greatly to the cultural life of his country. He devoted his whole life to the development of Prahova County and, in particular, the city of Ploiești, founding the Nicolae Iorga Library and the Prahova County Art Museum "Ion Ionescu-Quintus", contributing at the same time to the cultural life of Romania. Among the loieștimost important designed constructions are the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, the Halles Centrales, the Palace of Justice, the Palace of Business Schools, the Bank of Credit Prahova (Creditul Prahovei) and the Scala cinema. He was mayor of Ploiești between December 1919 and March 1920, and in 1927 he moved to Păulești, a municipality of which he was mayor between 1938 and 1945 and whose infrastructure he developed. During the Communist period, refusing to join the Communist Party and considered a "class enemy", his family was persecuted by the Securitate, he has been expelled from his house in Păulești and all his properties have been confiscated. He moved to Bucharest, where he died in 1960. TOC Toma T. Socolescu marked the face of modern Romanian architecture until the Second World War, both by leaving a substantial legacy, both in terms of remarkable constructions, foundations of a cultural nature, and literature related to Romanian architecture and its evolution. It is still a benchmark in the world of architecture and art. More than a dozen of his works have been classified as historic monuments. Son, grandson and nephew of an architect, his career choice was not easy. After a happy and fulfilled childhood, his father suddenly disappeared on November 22, 1897, then his mother, three years later, the same day, he became an orphan at the age of 17 and in charge of his four brothers and sisters.