page_title: Toma T. Socolescu
section_title: In Ploiești
hierarchical_section_title: Toma T. Socolescu / Architectural achievements / In Ploiești
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Théâtre Cinema Scala, Ploieşti. Architecte: Toma T. Socolescu. Ce bâtiment est situé strada T. Moşoiu à Ploieşti, Judeţul Prahova, Roumanie. Nous sommes les descendants et uniques ayant-droits de toute l'oeuvre de Toma T. Socolescu (mort en 1960 à Bucarest). English: Scala Cinema Theater in Ploieşti. Architect Toma T. Socolescu. This building is located on strada T. Moşoiu in Ploieşti, Judetul Prahova, Romania. We are the only heirs and descendants of Toma T. Socolescu (died in 1960 in Bucharest) and therefore owner of all his intellectual rights.
context_page_description: Toma T. Socolescu was a Romanian architect. He was one of the influencers of Romanian architecture from the early 20th century through World War II.
context_section_description: Palace of Business Schools, at (now) 98 Gheorghe Doja street. Construction was carried out between 1924 and 1938. It hosted business schools for boys from 1938, under the name Liceul Comercial Spiru Haret, until the communists came to power in 1948. It now houses the National College Ion Luca Caragiale. It is classified as an historical monument.
  Primary teachers house of Ploiești. The building is located at 8 Ștefan cel Mare street. Its construction began in 1925 and was probably completed in 1931. It was inaugurated on 2 October 1932 It was affected by the 1940 and 1977 earthquakes. Integrating the facilities for teachers and their families, it housed a theater-cinema, a bookstore and a printing press in the basement. It no longer houses the teachers. Nationalized by the Communists in 1962, it was recovered by the County League of Prahova Free Teaching Unions in a decrepit state. It was sold several times and underwent rehabilitation from 2010-2013. The building must be converted into a polyclinic. It is classified as an historical monument.
  Courthouse, designed in collaboration with French architect Ernest Doneaud. Implementation began before the war under the prefect Luca Elefterescu. Socolescu was nominated "executive architect" responsible for all construction from 1923 until its completion in 1932. This edifice became the Palace of Culture in 1953, while still hosting the appeal court. Weakened and damaged by the war and the earthquake of 1977, it was strengthened in the 1980s. Its restoration resumed in 2006. It was published in Arhitectura in 1924. The palace has been classified as an historical monument.
  Central Market Hall of Ploiești, is a masterpiece. The construction contract was signed in 1912, based on the municipal council decision of 9 November 1912, chaired by Mayor Scarlat Orăscu. Work began in June 1930 and was completed in 1935. Its construction is based on the principles of hygiene and logistics, and echoed across Europe. Socolescu carried out a study tour in Vienna and Budapest in the winter of 1913 before starting the project, and undertook two others during its execution. He visited Geneva, Basel, Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Munich and Breslau. He completed his 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 the halls of Budapest in Hungary. In the article he wrote for French magazine La Construction moderne in September 1936, Socolescu detailed his project, its objectives and its layout and operations. The Market Hall eventually became the symbol of the City of Ploiești. Partially damaged by the bombing, it was consolidated in the 1980s. The project nearly failed, due to new mayor Ion Georgescu Obrocea who in 1929 gave the project to another company, although Socolescu had had a contract since 1913. Socolescu successfully challenged this new contract, thanks to his friend lawyer Grigore Ivănceanu. The whole edifice is classified as an historical monument. On 27 February 1936, Socolescu officially introduced a construction project that was never realized.
  Creditul Prahovei at the intersection of Republicii boulevard with Take Ionescu street, 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 were published in the Arhitectura journal in 1926. The building is classified as an historical monument.
  Cinematograph Scala, still visible is sited on Traian Moșoiu street. It was originally a brewery constructed on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of Ploiești around 1933. Decommissioned and abandoned in the 2000s, the place was renovated in 2009-2010.
  St John the Baptist Cathedral (Catedrala Sfântul Ioan Botezătorul)
  In 1912, Socolescu had worked on the old St John the Baptist church. According to his plans, the main dome was elevated 5 meters.
  The work w
caption: The Scala cinematograph.
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