# Toma N. Socolescu

Toma N. Socolescu (Ploiești, 1848 - Ploiești, November 22, 1897) was an important Romanian Neoclassical architect of the mid-to-late 19th century. He was the first Romanian-trained architect in Prahova County and played a major role in the town planning of Ploiești. He built numerous public works in his Județ of Prahova, while also having the distinction of having practiced as a building contractor. He executed his own plans as well as those of other architects.

## Biography

Born in 1848 in Ploiești, son of Niculae Gheorghe Socol, major architect of the Județ of Prahova, in the Neoclassical style, he was the only Romanian architect working in Prahova county at the time, other architects being of foreign origin. He built numerous public and official buildings, churches, and remarkable private homes, many of which are part of Romania's historic architectural heritage. He also was the city architect of Ploiești from 1880 and 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 are 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, executing the plans of other architects, he built schools, hospitals, high schools, and barracks.
Hard worker, he also has a real artistic talent. Fine draughtsman as well as watercolorist, he also enjoys creating and shaping decorative glazed terracotta crafts, as well as traditional Romanian stoves, in his own home. The Art Museum of Ploiești has a watercolor and a drawing: Michael the Brave, on horseback. Originally from Transylvania, and echoing the city's foundation by Michael the Brave, the architect decorated many of his buildings with a frontispiece featuring a bas-relief of the Prince.
He was very close to his younger brother, the architect Ion N. Socolescu [ro], whom he supported financially throughout his architectural studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He left Ploiești with his entire family for Bucharest in 1896, not only to follow the construction of the Cuza-Vodă barracks, but also to keep in constant touch with the Society of Architects, of which he was a founding member. He took up residence not far from his brother Ion's house, at 29 Boulevard Carol.
He was one of the twenty or so signatories, including Ion Mincu, of a petition asking the Prime Minister to create a Historical Monuments Commission to protect and conserve 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, owning an oil derrick in the commune of Buștenari [ro], in the Județ of Prahova. In association with Toma Rucăreanu, he built a gas factory called "Lumina", next to the South railway station [ro], from Ploiești.
He died at the age of 48 on November 22, 1897, in Ploiești, having completed a substantial career, despite the premature end of his professional activity. He is buried in the Socolescu family vault at Bucharest's Bellu Cemetery.

### Education and travels

He studied architecture in the section led by architects Alexandru Orăscu and Carol Benesch (or Carol Beniş) at the School of Fine Arts- Bucharest. At the request of Vasile Urechea Alexandrescu, then Minister of National Education, Theodor Aman, director of the School of Fine Arts, painter and major player in the Romanian cultural renaissance [fr], awarded him a merit scholarship. He entered the school on December 23, 1867, graduating in 1870, after a classical academic training. His diploma is signed by King Carol I. Romanian architects were trained in the spirit of classical architecture. Neo-classical architecture was adopted in Wallachia and Moldavia as early as the 18th century, and lasted until the end of the 19th century.
Very active and eager to learn, he undertook two-month-long study trips to France and Italy, the first in the winter of 1893-1894. He visits his brother Ion N. Socolescu [ro], then a student architect at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His train journey continued to Marseille, Nice, Monte-Carlo, then Italy to Genoa, Rome, and Naples, where he discovered Pompeii and Herculaneum. On the way back, he visited Venice. In 1896, he took a final trip, this time with his wife, to northern Italy. He visited Milan, then Nice again, and returned to Paris, again by train. He passed through Vienna before arriving in Ploiești on on February 13, 1896.

### Public offices, titles and responsibilities

* President of the Ploiești builders' society.
* City architect of Ploiești from 1880.
* 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 Ploiești.
* Judicial expert in construction, near the Court of Prahova around 1890.
* Awarded the Cavalier Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania on February 21, 1884.

### Genealogy

The Socol family of Berivoiul-Mare [ro], formerly part of Făgăraș or Țara Făgărașului 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 Dâmbovița county, still existing, Cornești and Răzvadu de Sus. He built their churches and another one in the suburb of Târgoviște. This boyar married Marula, daughter of Tudora din Popești, also known as Tudora din Târgșor, sister of Prince Antonie-Vodă. Marula was recognized by Mihai Viteazul as his illegitimate daughter, following an extra-marital liaison with Tudora. Marula 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 his son Toma T. Socolescu, found Socol ancestors among the founders of the City of Făgăraș in the 12th century. In 1655, the Prince of Transylvania George II Rákóczi ennobled an ancestor of Nicolae G. Socol: "Ștefan Boier din Berivoiul Mare, and through him his wife Sofia Spătar, his son Socoly, 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 Socol come to Muntenia, from Berivoiu Mare [ro], in the territory of Făgăraș.
   "Five brothers crossed the mountains, all builders, from the Făgăraș region, a village at the foot of the mountains, Berivoiul-Mare [ro], where the name of Socol is still widespread today, and where one of their ancestors is said to have come from Munténie, namely from the region of Târgoviște, which is the home of the Socol family, being to this day, near Târgovişte, Valea lui Socol (the Socol Valley), as well as their two founding churches, in Răzvadu de Sus and Cornești."
One of the brothers was architect Nicolae Gheorghe Socol (??-1872). He settled in Ploiești around 1840-1845, and named himself Socolescu. He married Iona Săndulescu, from the Sfantu Spiridon suburb. He had a daughter (she died in infancy) and four sons, two of whom became major architects: Toma N. Socolescu and Ion N. Socolescu [ro]. The lineage of architects continues with Toma T. Socolescu, and his son Barbu Socolescu.
The historian, cartographer and geographer Dimitrie Papazoglu [ro] evokes, in 1891, the presence of Romanian boyars of the first rank Socoleşti, in Bucharest, descendants of Socol from Dâmbovița. Finally, Constantin Stan also refers, in 1928, to the precise origin of Nicolae Gheorghe Socol :
   "At the foot of the Carpathians, on the right bank of the stream of the same name, lies the commune of Berivoiul-Mare [ro] [...], one of the oldest villages in the Olt household [...]. The inhabitants are composed of serfs and former boyars. [...], and the Romanian boyar families were: Socol, Boyer, Sinea and Răduleț, soldiers with border guard privileges.[...] The G. Streza Socol family gave birth to Nicolae Socol, a graduated architect from Vienna, who settled in the town of Ploeşti with several of his brothers around the middle of the last century
| | | | | | | | | | | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | Niculae Gheorghe Socol (~1820-1872) architect | | | | | | | Ioana Săndulescu | Ioana Săndulescu | Ioana Săndulescu | Ioana Săndulescu | Ioana Săndulescu | Ioana Săndulescu | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | Alexandrina Nicolau (1860–1900) | | | | | | | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | Toma N. Socolescu (1848–1897) architect and builder in Ploiești | | | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | Nicolae N. Socolescu timber merchant | | | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | Ghiță N. Socolescu artist painter, dead during his graduate studies | | | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect | Ion N. Socolescu [ro] (1856–1924) architect |
| Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | Florica Tănescu (1887-1969) | | | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | Toma T. Socolescu (1883–1960) professor-architect | | | Florica T. Socolescu | Florica T. Socolescu | Florica T. Socolescu | Florica T. Socolescu | Florica T. Socolescu | Florica T. Socolescu | | | Smaranda T. Socolescu | Smaranda T. Socolescu | Smaranda T. Socolescu | Smaranda T. Socolescu | Smaranda T. Socolescu | Smaranda T. Socolescu | | | Ioan T. Socolescu | Ioan T. Socolescu | Ioan T. Socolescu | Ioan T. Socolescu | Ioan T. Socolescu | Ioan T. Socolescu | | | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu | Coralia-Ioana-Margareta T. Socolescu |
| Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | Mircea Socolescu (1907–1978) settled in France in 1945, married without children | | | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu (1909–1977) professor-architect | | | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | Irena Gabriela Vasilescu (1910–1993) artist painter, teacher | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu (1942–1994) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher | Maria Lois (1942-2021) teacher |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer | Laura Socolescu (1967) settled in France – artist-choreographer, dancer |

## Architectural and urban planning achievements

Toma N. Socolescu began his career as an architect and a master builder in his hometown in 1870. He designed and built all types of buildings: private homes, public buildings, factories, churches, and more. As architect for the city of Ploiești, in 1882 he drew up the city's first topographical plan: Planul urbei Ploesci, nomenclatura, by Toma N. Socolescu, architectu, URBEI, Anu 1882.
He contributed to the creation of the new large boulevard of independence (Bulevardul Independenţei) linking the brand-new South Railway Station (Gară de Sud) to the city center. The route was decided in 1871 by the town council after much dithering and reversals. Socolescu 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 Ploiești had no official, public buildings, schools, or hospitals. Public services were housed in private premises rented for the purpose, often unfit for the purpose. So everything remained to be built. Toma N. Socolescu then played a major role in the construction and planning of public buildings.
The town owes most of its official public buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries to him. Most lasted until 1944. Some, particularly the churches, are still visible.

### In Ploiești
#### Churches, public buildings and artworks

* Plans and building of Sfânta Vineri [ro] church of Ploiești, between 1875 and 1880, located at 12, strada Neagoe Basarab. 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. It survived despite extensive damage from the 1940 earthquake and 1977, as well as the American bombing raids of 1944. Reconsolidated in 1998, the church is a listed historic monument. Its inside walls are frescoed by the painter Gheorghe Tattarescu, then spelled: Tătărăscu.
* Plans of Viișoara cemetery chapel in 1880, when the cemetery sharing the same name was founded.
* Plans and construction of Sfinţii Împărați Constantin și Elena church, from 1894, located at the intersection of Ion Luca Caragiale, Take Ionescu and Mărășești 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 Ion N. Socolescu [ro]. The building's interior is decorated by the then-famous church painter: Toma Vintilescu. The work was not completed until 1902. Severely affected by war and earthquakes, the church was restored and re-consecrated in 1945.
| Sfânta Vineri Church. | Church of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Elena. | Viișoara cemetery chapel. | Ploiești' Statue of Liberty in 1908. |
| Churches and works of art. |
* Plans and construction of the old Tribunal, built-in 1873, located on the sidewalk of today's Hotel Prahova Plaza, on strada Mihail Kogălniceanu, just opposite the Ergas Mamaciu house. It was severely damaged by the 1940 earthquake and demolished in the following months.
* He designed and built the Palace of the Municipal Baths, commissioned by Radu Stanian [ro], 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 Sfântul Petru şi Pavel high school, a typographic workshop and other institutions, such as the Nicolae Iorga Library from 1921 until 1941. They were finally destroyed by the Communists in 1955, and replaced by bland, unstyled housing blocks.
* Plans and construction of the School of Arts and Crafts, on strada Văleni (at the time), built in 1886. Classified as a historic monument, it is located at n°22 on strada Văleni and now houses a public administration: the Urban Management Services of the city of Ploiești.
* 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 Târgușor (or Târgșor) streets, and lieutenant Al. Zagoriţ street, known formerly as Ghiţă Alexiu street. It now houses a kindergarten at 58 Mărășești street, at the intersection with Ceahlău street.
* The fish market, in 1880, under the mandate of Mayor Constantin T. Grigorescu. They were demolished to make way for the construction of the Central Halls of Ploiești, the major work of his son Toma T Socolescu.
* The fire station, behind the old town hall, in 1881. It was destroyed following the 1940 earthquake.
* The Luca Moise Grand Hotel, together with the adjoining theater hall, completed on October 15, 1885. The hotel was located at the intersection of Mihail Kogălniceanu street, formerly Franceză street and Constantin Dobrogeanu Gherea street, formerly Municipalității street. They will be demolished following the 1977 earthquake, as part of the “Systematization” communist program established for the city in 1968.
* Bulevard hotel, in 1896, which was his last work. It was located on Union Square (Piața Unirii), 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 since been demolished.
* He designed and built the marble base (quarried in Prahova) of the Statue of Liberty, as well as its wrought-iron fence. Inaugurated on June 11, 1881, the bronze statue represents Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom. It is made and cast in France. It has been moved several times over the years, it is now located on the Place des Héros, in front of the Saint John the Baptist Cathedral [ro]} (Catedrală Sfântul Ioan Ioan Botezătorul), 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, it was finally restored from 2008 to 2012, then moved again in 2012 to its current location. Classified as a historic monument.

#### Houses and shops

* The new Dimitrie Sfetescu's house. Classified as a historic monument, it became the headquarters of the oil company Concordia in the 1930s, then the headquarters of the Ploiești municipal police in the 2000s. It can still be seen at no. 21, boulevardul Independenței.
* Gheorghe Dobrescu's house,a great merchant from Brașov (Transylvania), located at n°23 boulevardul Independenței, and still visible.
* Dimitrie Angelescu's house. Destroyed in the early 2000s. A house has since been rebuilt, copying its original style.
* Property of Gogălniceanu at the intersection of I. Radovici and Kogălniceanu streets, in 1870, a large merchant's house, with shops on the ground floor and one residential accommodation floor. The corner of the building reveals a frontispiece decorated with a bas-relief depicting two lions and a bust of Michael the Brave, the Valache prince responsible for the town's strong development, and whose memory is often recalled on old buildings or writings linked to Ploiești. It was demolished following the 1977 Vrancea earthquake.
* He designed and built many of the neoclassical or neo-Italian styles single-storey stores on Lipscani street, the city's historic and emblematic thoroughfare, and on other downtown streets, such as Cavafi street. These buildings were preserved in their original share until the American bombing raids of 1944. Communist urban redesign in the 1960s, followed by Ceausescu's "Systematization (Romania)", decided their fate. They're all gone, as is the Lipscani street itself. strada Lipscani was an ancient, gently curving street running from the heart of the town to the Palace of Justice. This artery, where most of the town's shops once flourished, disappeared in two stages: the first half, near the Palace of Culture, was demolished between 1968 and 1969, to make way for today's administrative building. The other half was demolished after the 1977 Vrancea earthquake.
* Toma Rucăreanu's house, in 1884. Listed as a historical monument, it become Sfetescu house, located at 19, Independenței boulevard. It now houses the Mon Jardin restaurant.
* Also around 1888, he built the large Eliade or Eliad building, on the square in front of the Luca Moise Grand Hotel. The building no longer exists.
* I. Bazar house, located on the former Bucureşti avenue, at the corner of the Ştefan cel Mare street, since gone.
* Naumescu house on the Rudului street, destroyed.
The list is not exhaustive.

#### Achievements as Master builder & contractor

* The Despina Doamna girl high school, on Buna Vestire street, in 1890, according to his brother Ion N. Socolescu [ro]'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.
* Boldescu hospital reconstruction, in 1893, located on Boldescu street, a hospital founded in 1831 by the boyar intendant of the same name Gheorghe Bolcescu. The work is based on plans by architect Filip Xenopol.
* 'Number two' boys and girls school.
| Gogălniceanustore, 1970. | Dimitrie Sfetescu house, 2012. | Toma Rucăreanu house, 2012. | The former Bulevard hotel circa 1930. |
| Stores, houses and hotels in Ploiești. |

### In Prahova county

* Sfinții voievozi church, whose construction began in 1876 and was completed in 1884. Consecrated the same year, it is located in the center of Urlați. The painter Gheorghe Tattarescu decorated it with numerous remarkable icons.
* Restoration of the old Câmpina town hall, circa 1880, building originally constructed by his father Niculae Gheorghe Socol around 1850 for the journalist Zaharia Carcalechi, it was taken over by the local administration in 1877 and converted into a town hall. It was located at the intersection of Doftanei avenue, and the city's central boulevard, Carol I boulevard. It was demolished in 1922, and another town hall was built on the same site.

#### Achievements as Master builder & contractor

* Vasile Paapa trade school of Valea Boului, since renamed Valea Cricovului [ro]. 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 Valea Călugărească elementary school.
* Vasile Paapa primary school of Valea Călugărească village
* Urlaţi and Sinaia hospitals
* The Mizil military barracks.

### In Bucarest
#### Achievements as Master builder & contractor

* Cuza-Vodă barracks, 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

* Iordache Zossimade agriculture school of Armășești, judeţ of Ialomița, built around 1887.

## Legacy

Until 1944, many of Ploiești's most beautiful streets, and the city's landmark monuments of his design did profoundly marked the face of the city, for which Toma N. Socolescu had brought the neo-classical touch of French and Italian inspiration. Added to this is the neo-Romanian style, including a large production by his son Toma T. Socolescu, also a great builder in Ploiești and all over the Judet, as well as art deco and even Bauhaus style constructions. The American bombing raids of 1944 brought down one-eighth of the buildings and permanently affected the city's harmony and architectural eclecticism.
The 1940 earthquake and 1977 also took their toll on Prahova's buildings, several of them designed by Toma N. Socolescu. However, the most significant destruction was carried out by the communists, who would complete the disfiguration of the city between 1960 and 1989, through two waves of "Systematization". The most massive was decided by Nicolae Ceaușescu, the last Communist dictator. These "clean sweep" operations often pretexted the weakening of buildings by the 1977 earthquake to make them disappear, and with them the face of an era all too reminiscent of a triumphant educated bourgeoisie, and the insolent expression of a period that the new regime absolutely wanted to forget. There are still, however, several of the architect's churches and public buildings, as well as some fine residences. Most are listed as historical monuments. The works of Toma N. Socolescu remain the expression of neoclassicism in architecture.
Well-known in the city of Ploiești, the name of this builder-architect is linked to the history of a trade and oil rich city , whose future seemed radiant at the time. A high school bears his name, as well as a street: strada Arhitect Toma Socolescu.
| The Palace of the communal baths. | The Cuza-Vodă barracks, circa 1930. |
| Baths of Ploiești and the Cuza-Vodă barracks. |