Toma T. Socolescu

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,[b 1] he became an orphan at the age of 17 and in charge of his four brothers and sisters. Toma T. has a great talent for drawing and devotes his free time to drawing during his last three years of high school. Eager to know, he took advantage of his father's large library and inherited his drawing talent.[b 2] Despite the catastrophic financial situation of the family, the dispersion of his brothers and sisters taken in by the Socolescu uncles and cousins,[b 3] and the unfavorable economic situation for architects at the end of the 19th century in Romania,[b 4] he succeeded in forcing destiny and following his passion for art and architecture, taking advantage of free higher education, in this time.[b 4]

He finished high school in 1901 at the lyceum St Peter and St Paul of Ploiești and then enrolled at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, then known as the National School of Architecture. He was a student of Ion Mincu, the leading expert in Romanian architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. In June 1911, he graduated with 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 is credited with having 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 significant milestones in his life. In these places he found inspiration for his work in Romania.

He was drafted into the 47th Infantry Regiment in 1916, where he was assigned to the Bucharest transport regiment and sent to the "Danube Defense Group" (Grupul Apărării Dunarii).[b 5] There, with other architects and engineers, he was responsible for bridge demolition operations during the Moldavia retreat. He 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 Moldavia gave him the chance to discover the rural and religious artistry of various Romanian regions. Clutching 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.[d 1] In 1941 he wrote an article on the Romanian ancient art of Bessarabia, and illustrated it with his own watercolors.[d 2]

Socolescu was one of the leading advocates and a staunch defender of the Romanian national architectural style, also referred to as Neo brâncovenesc 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. His strong interest in archaeology led him to study and preserve many old houses and churches, and to publish essays and surveys on this subject.

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

He played a key role in the management of the Society of Romanian Architects,[1] and participated in his hometown's cultural and social life. He served as Mayor from December 1919 to March 1920.

The artistic component of architecture was fundamental to 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 lacking the necessary artistic talent. In his memoirs, he chastised architects active from the 1920s through the 1940s, who, according to him, neglected architecture's artistic foundations. He also denounced the projects which took only land use into account and noted the lack of hygiene in houses built between 1930 and 1950, while the buildings in France, Austria and Germany of the same period were much more advanced. In his editorials, he wrote against property speculation and the immediate search for profit that led to poor construction and "soulless" buildings.[b 6]

In The Architecture of Ploiești, A Historical Study[2] (1938), Socolescu wrote:

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.[a 1]

He served as mayor of Ploiești immediately after World War I, as well as the county's Chief Architect.[b 7] He had to handle all major supply problems in the city. He was the primary instigator of the expansion of the city's boundaries, to include the refineries located in the periphery that allowed the city to benefit from the tax base they provided. The budget tripled and reached a level that allowed large infrastructure projects. He planned major changes in the city, including the construction of the Central Market Hall of Ploiești,[c 1] and acted as urban planner. Many architectural projects that were not completed during his short term were finished by the mayors that succeeded him.

Throughout his life, he improved town planning and hygiene for the city of Ploiești. From 1932 to 1935, in collaboration with architects Ion Davidescu and S. Vasilescu, he developed a systematic plan[c 2] of the city. This plan[3] gave more weight to green-space, traffic and railway and generally to allow for orderly growth. The plan provides for urban development and optimal population density, allocation for public and cultural institutions, schools and green-spaces. It also details the rules that defined land-use plans. He developed similar plans for the towns of Câmpina and Mizil.[4] These projects were enforced until the Communist takeover in 1945.

Duqué's manor in Păulești.

He settled into the commune of Păulești 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 shortened by the Rădescu government in January 1945.[5] In five and a half years, he built several buildings, bridges and public monuments, including the town hall, the primary school and the public baths. He created landscaped areas for the municipal park, called Parcul cu castani (the park with chestnut. A chestnut tree-lined avenue cut across the park and led to the cemetery. He had hoped that an amusement park and an ornamental pond[c 3] could be built to provide a large relaxing green space (Păulești is located 7 km from Ploiești). The project began around 1930, but was not completed before the Second World War. It was revived under the name of 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.[6] Work resumed in 2009.[7] In 2007, in recognition of the benefits provided by the architect, the commune college was renamed Arhitect T T. Socolescu.[8] In May 2011, another ceremony was held in his honour, unveiling a bust in his image that was installed in the school's courtyard.[9]

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

In 1914, aided by Nicolae Iorga, to appeal for the intervention of Ion Duca, then Minister of Education, he saved an historic house dating from the 18th century from destruction,[b 8] preserving it in its original form: the coppersmith dealer house of Hagi Prodan (Casa Hagi Prodan). In 1919, as County Architect in Chief, he founded a small regional ethnographic and religious art museum[a 2] in that house. It was the city's first museum,[b 7] initially called Muzeul Județului or Muzeul Prahovei.[a 3]

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

After a public appeal and fundraising campaign,[b 9] he collected art from across the county, with the help of priests and teachers. The museum was stocked with furniture, clothing and icons forgotten in the region's attics. During the period 1940–1944, the museum's inventory was eventually lost or stolen and replaced with other objects collected by Professor Nicolae Simache, assisted by Socolescu.

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.[10]

As a political and cultural companion of Nicolae Iorga, Socolescu actively participated in Summer courses (Known from 1920 as Universitate Popularã N.Iorga) that Iorga established in 1911 in Vălenii de Munte. In addition to completing the plans of the classrooms,[b 8] Socolescu regularly participated as a speaker along with other professors and prominent figures from Romanian cultural and political life.[b 10] Socolescu was a regular speaker, among other professors and prominent figures of Romanian cultural and political life. The renown and popularity grew to such an extent that the openings of the Summer courses attracted leading politicians and ministers. King Ferdinand of Romania, Prince Carol II of Romania and Princess Elisabeth of Wied attended Iorga's lectures. On 17 August 1938, Maria Tănase sang for the closure.[11]

In 1921 he founded the Biblioteca Populară Nicolae Iorga,[12] originally installed on the municipal baths' right wing.[13] Heading the Management Committee, he expanded the library collection with help from donors.[b 11] In the same place, on the ground floor, he developed an art gallery by collecting Western European artists' reproductions as well as original Romanian oils and watercolors. Inaugurated on 20 March 1921, it originally held 1,250 volumes. By 1937, more than 11.000 books and more than 3,500 publications were available free of charge to its 8,000 registered readers. Socolescu donated over 250 volumes from his collection.[a 4]

He founded and developed an art gallery by collecting reproductions of Western Europe artists as well as original Romanian oils and watercolors,[a 5] on the ground floor of the same building. For this purpose, he was helped by a group of Ploiești intellectuals including lawyer, art collector and politician Ion Ionescu-Quintus,[b 12][c 4] the historian Dumitru Munteanu-Râmnic, as well as by city mayors including Ștefan Moțoiu, who provided substantial financial support. Created around 1930, within the framework of the Cultural Foundation Nicolae Iorga,[14] the pinacotheca subsequently became the Ploiești Art Museum. It was inaugurated by Socolescu in November 1931[15] The wopening speech is reproduced in extenso in Amintiri.[b 13] It was only in 1965 that the museum would be moved to the current building: the Ghiță Ionescu palace, former County Prefecture. In Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric[a 6] 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.[16] Some oils and watercolors by Toma T. Socolescu, which the latter donated[17] to the museum, still exist, as do some works by the artist Toma Gh. Tomescu,[18] but are currently on display in the museum.

• Socolescu founded a library and museum in Păulești in the 1930s. The library was looted during the Second World War. It continues to operate and displays a work of lose friend, Romanian painter Toma Gh. Tomescu.[4][19]
• He organized and funded training in viticulture and fruit crops for the commune on his own farm, located at Socolescu manor.
• Socolescu painted many watercolors that met some success.
• He built a house for Tomescu in the latter's hometown of Vălenii de Munte in 1926–1927.[20] Socolescu bought many of Tomescu's works that he later donated to Muzeul Prahovei.

He refused to integrate into the Communist-sponsored organization of architects, and was considered as an enemy of the people and was persecuted by the Communist authorities. His property was nationalized in the 1950s. He was not allowed to practice as an architect and was expelled from his Păulești estate on 21 February 1952. He moved in with his son Toma Barbu Socolescu in Bucharest. The Socolescu family was harassed by the Securitate almost until his death in 1960. Left without an income, he worked until the age of 74 at the Institute of Urban Planning and Construction (ISPROR).[21] From 1953, within the framework of Institutul Central pentru sistematizarea orașelor și regiunilor (ICSOR) he was seconded to the Department of Historical Monuments for four years.[b 14] On 12 February 1957, he was forced to retire on a reduced pension.[b 14] Socolescu nevertheless continued to protest projects that he considered to be against his idea of architecture.[22]

Socolescu published many writings.[b 15] He deliberately did not claim credit for all of his works. To protect other families, his memoirs omitted some details during the communist regime. The Securitate particularly attacked wealthy families of the interwar period and seized their property and jailed many Romanians.

Toma T. Socolescu is still studied at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism and is still considered as an architectural eminence in Romania.

Until recently[23] no reference to Socolescu was visible in the streets of Ploiești or the capital. A Technical High School in Ploiești is named after his father,[24] while a Technical College for architecture and public works in Bucharest is named after his uncle. A street is named after his father in Ploiești. However, since 21 October 2010 and the 50th anniversary of his death, he has come out of oblivion. Other ceremonies[25] were held from 2009 to 2011, including the installation of a bust[26] in front of the Central Market Hall of Ploiești and the naming of the adjacent park, for the architect. On 29 September 2010, Socolescu was posthumously awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Ploiești.[27]

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

any of his works were destroyed partly by the American bombardments of 1943–44, that were especially harsh[28] in Ploiești, and more were razed by Nicolae Ceaușescu's policy of systematization[29] that removed all traces of the soul of Romanian architecture. Many surviving properties were returned to him in a degraded state,[30] such as his manor house in Păulești,[31] or his building in Ploiești, which was disfigured during the 1950s.[32]

His house of Păulești[33] is on the regional list of Historic Monuments,[34] after 45 years of neglect by the state. Built by another architect with no link to the Socolescu style, it was returned to the heiress in a much damaged state. Stripped of its land, and of its ornamental garden (organized by Socolescu), it lost most of its original beauty and harmony. The estate was sold by the family in August 2010.

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

His Ploiești apartment house suffered badly during 1944. It was nationalized in 1950 and disfigured by a rehabilitation. It was partially returned to the family in 2006.[32]

Most of the finest edifices of Ploiești, including several built by the Socolescus, were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, under pretext of structural weakness due to the earthquakes of 1940 and 1977.

After 1949 Socolescu devoted his spare time to his memoirs. He continued to work on the project until 1960. In 2004, after more than fifty years of neglect by various Romanian institutions, his family published the first part of his memoirs called Amintiri (the only part he had finished) which covers the period from his birth up to 1924.[35] 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.[36] His book dedicated to the architecture in Ploiești, Arhitectura în Ploești, studiu istoric, published in 1937, was recognized by the Romanian Academy.[4]

The first page of a small booklet he wrote in French in 1941[37] sums up his credo:[38]

        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.

Toma T. Socolescu died on October 14, 1960, in Bucharest, at the home of his son Toma Barbu Socolescu, leaving the second part of his memoirs unfinished (period after 1924). He is buried in the Socolescu family vault at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.

• Palace of Business Schools,[50] at (now) 98 Gheorghe Doja street. Construction was carried out between 1924 and 1938.[a 9] It hosted business schools for boys from 1938,[51] under the name Liceul Comercial Spiru Haret, until the communists came to power in 1948. It now houses the National College Ion Luca Caragiale.[52] It is classified as an historical monument.[34]
  

  Former Primary teachers house of Ploiești or Casa corpul Didactic.
• Primary teachers house of Ploiești.[53] The building is located at 8 Ștefan cel Mare street. Its construction began in 1925 and was probably completed in 1931.[54] It was inaugurated on 2 October 1932[55] 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.[a 10] It no longer houses the teachers. Nationalized by the Communists in 1962, it was recovered by the County League of Prahova Free Teaching Unions[56] in a decrepit state.[57] It was sold several times and underwent rehabilitation from 2010 to 2013. The building must be converted into a polyclinic. It is classified as an historical monument.[34]
• Courthouse, designed in collaboration with French architect Ernest Doneaud. Implementation began before the war[a 9] under the prefect Luca Elefterescu. Socolescu was nominated "executive architect" responsible for all construction from 1923 until its completion in 1932.[58] 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.[d 7] The palace has been classified as an historical monument.[34]

The Courthouse, transformed into the Palace of Culture.

• Central Market Hall of Ploiești, is a masterpiece.[a 11] The construction contract was signed in 1912, based on the municipal council decision of 9 November 1912, chaired by Mayor Scarlat Orăscu.[59] Work began in June 1930[60] and was completed in 1935.[c 8] 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[b 20] 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.[61][b 21][59] The whole edifice is classified as an historical monument.[34] On 27 February 1936, Socolescu officially introduced a construction project that was never realized.[62]

Central Market Hall

The former Creditul Prahovei.

• 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.[63] 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.[d 4] The building is classified as an historical monument.[34]
• Cinematograph Scala, still visible is sited on Traian Moșoiu street. It was originally a brewery[a 9] constructed on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of Ploiești around 1933.[64] Decommissioned and abandoned in the 2000s, the place was renovated in 2009–2010.

The Scala cinematograph.

• 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.[c 9]

The work was carried out between 1923[c 10] and 1939. The cathedral honors the dead of the First World War and is part of a national-religious momentum. The steeple is classified as an historical monument.[34] Only the 60-meter-high (200 ft) bell tower and the first part of the work were completed,[a 12][c 11] stopped by the war. The project for the rest of the building that would replace the existing church remained unfulfilled until work resumed in 2008, inspired by Socolescu's plans.

The facade is particularly unique to the time, and two monumental statues line the entrance. The interior's furniture is remarkable. The pre-project, and the plans of the cathedral, were published in the 1925 and 1926 issues of Arhitectura.[d 8]

Cathedral St John the Baptist in Ploiești.

• 

  Boys High School of Câmpina.
  Socolescu designed the boys high school of Câmpina,[65] at 4 Doftanei avenue. 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 Doftanei avenue were built between 1928 and 1929. The second wing, facing the Mihai Eminescu street, 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. It was damaged by the earthquake of 1940 and by the bombing (the Mihai Eminescu wing and the gym were destroyed). The wing was rebuilt in 1957–1958. The 1977 earthquake left the building unusable. The building now houses the Nicolae Grigorescu National College formerly named in 1930 Liceul Dimitrie Barbu Stirbey.[66]

• Villa of pharmacist N. Hogaș, brother of the writer Calistrat Hogaș, Gh. Lazăr street. During its construction, Socolescu reserved the ceiling of the lounge for a future fresco by Tomescu.[a 16] Built around 1907, the house was destroyed during World War II. This was Socolescu's first work.
• Pasapeanu House,[b 22] a small house on (now) Barbu Dela Vrancea street, built around 1908. This is his smallest work.
• House[b 22] on 31 Vlad Tepes street[77] that was made around 1908.
• House[b 8] on București avenue near the South Railway Station (Gara de Sud), built around 1908. The house was destroyed by the Communists to make room for the Plants of 1 May.
• Rental property[a 17] on Lipscani street, probably built about 1910, razed by Communists.[78]
• Orăscu residential house, at 18 Independenței boulevard.[c 14] Built around 1920 in the Art Nouveau fashionable French style of the time. Its interior was luxurious. The house was confiscated by the Communists, then turned into a popular canteen.[b 23] It later became a polyclinic for children.[23] The house is classified as an historical monument.[34]

The Scarlat Orăscu house

• Europa Hotel, renovation and addition of a floor in collaboration with Ion N. Socolescu before 1914–1915. The hotel, first called the Victoria Hotel, was originally planned by his grandfather Nicolae Gh. Socol.[a 18][b 24][79] It was demolished by the Communists in 1960.

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

• House, built along with Ion Socolescu[a 19] shortly before the First World War. It was damaged in the bombing and demolished in 1950.
• House at 12 Ștefan cel Mare street, built before the First World War, destroyed by the bombing, according to Memoirs of Socolescu. It housed the city's Technical Services in 1938.[a 10] However, an ancient house remains, which matches Socolescu's style for its ground floor part.[80] The originally one-story house, was expanded by one floor during the communist era.

Villa of Zaharia Leon on Drosescu street.

• Villa on (now) C.T. Grigorescu street dates from 1913 to 1914. The villa was destroyed by the bombing.[23] A later-built house has partially preserved the original wall and gate.
• Villa[a 10] at 8 Maramureș street. Built before 1914, it was nationalized by the Communists. The house is classified as an historical monument[34] and hosts the National Department of Highways.[23]

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

• Socolescu rental property at 2 Ștefan cel Mare Aurel Vlaicue street. Built from 1914, the building was habitable from 1915 and probably completed after World War I. Socolescu borrowed from banks to finance it. He installed his office and worked there until the bombing partially destroyed it.[b 25] The structure was confiscated and transformed by the Soviets in the 1950s.[81] The original facade was replaced by a more sober style. Originally the building had 7 shops on the ground floor and 5 apartments, and housed Socolescu and his family.[b 26]
• Rental property[a 20] in the old market ('Obor'), at 1 Émile Zola. Built in the 1920s, it was nationalized in 1950. The block of houses where it is located, escaped communist destruction.
• Villa on Eminescu street. Built in the 1920s and destroyed by bombing.
• Probably built in 1922 as shown by an inscription in the lobby. It is located on Kogălniceanu street (formerly Franceză street), was published 36. Nationalized, the building was only partially recovered by the Bogdan's heirs.[82] The house is one of the few remnants of the ancient town center of Ploiești that was razed and rebuilt in a modern style around 1980.

The Gheorghe Bogdan's building.

• Toboc building at 1 Democrației street. According to the family[83] of the former owner and other corroborating sources, Socolescu designed and built the building. The style is reminiscent of his brâncovenesc style. The construction resembles the rental structurethat he had planned for himself a few years before, at 2 Ștefan cel Mare street. Achieved between 1920 and 1924, nicknamed Toboc (squat man), the building was nationalized in 1950. It has been[23] occupied by tenants since the 1977 earthquake. The construction is listed as a maximum seismic risk building.[84]

The Toboc building

• House at 6 Rahovei road. Built around 1920, it was damaged in the bombing, but was rebuilt almost identically under Socolescu's supervision. The house was renovated in 2009 and preserves much of its original style. A photograph was published in Arhitectura in 1925.[d 9]
• House built in 1933–1934 at 4 Italiană street.[85] It was confiscated and internally damaged during the communist period.[86] The house is classified as an historical monument.[87]

The Ștefan Z. Ghica Ghiculescu house

• Theater and cinematograph Odeon. It was built in 1927 and inaugurated on 28 February 1928.[88] It was operating as a cinema in 1932.[89] Renamed Rodina after its nationalization in 1948,[90] it sheltered from 1955 the Teatrul de Stat din Ploiești.[91] It was transformed and modernized by the Communists in 1954.[92] It was recognizable in 1957, after a long renovation during which its capacity increased to 600 seats.[93] At an unknown later date, as a result of the 1977 earthquake, it was buried at the foot of a Soviet-style residential block. It is renamed the Toma Caragiu theater on 6 September 1991.[94]
  

  Odeon theater around 1970.
• Portal of the Ploiești exhibition center. Built in the 1930s, it later became the hippodrome gate. Destroyed by the bombing, the current portal is a poor copy of the original.[c 15]
• Renovation of the ground floor[a 17] of the Ploiești Central Bank[95] in the 1930s. Affected by the 1977 earthquake, the bank was razed by the Communists.
• Peasant inn at the Bucov barrier,[96] at 2 Strada Oborului. Probably one of Socolescu's last works (1938–1939), it was planned to accommodate merchants and farmers. The market was moved to the outskirts of the town after the construction of the central hall. It was originally surrounded by horse 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 barn for 40 animals and a smaller office building. At the time of the legionnaire regime, it became a shelter for refugees from Transylvania. Later it welcomed the nervous disease hospital of Cernăuți, evacuated following the Soviet invasion of Northern Bukovina. It then became officially the "Hospital of the Peasant Inn". Seriously affected by the bombing, the hospital was evacuated to Filipeștii de Pădure. A section for Soviet troops was opened in October 1944. In 1951, the department of nervous diseases returned. The building functioned continuously as a hospital through at least 2010.[97]
• Family grave of the Gheorghiu family in the Viișoara cemetery. A picture was published in Arhitectura in 1925.[d 10] The tomb still existed in 2009, although changed and degraded.
• According to some sources[98] the Memorial to the heroes of World War I in the Bolovani cemetery was done by Socolescu. Partially destroyed by the bombing, it was rebuilt, but the bronze eagle that covered the top was never rebuilt.

• Manor of Gérard Joseph Duqué in Păulești, on the town's southern border, built from 1920 to 1935. The house was commissioned by Obrocea Ion Georgescu, then transferred to Duqué for repayment of debts,[99] it was redesigned by the architect for Duqué.

T. T. Socolescu school.

• Town Hall, primary school, public baths, small maternity ward, stables and carved wood Trinity memorial of the Păulești commune. The works were completed between 1937 and 1944. The stables became a bakery. The memorial was moved to the village cemetery.
• Two houses for family members of I. Diamandescu[c 9] and Costică Dușescu[b 8] built around 1907 in Câmpina.
• Villa of D. Ștefănescu in Câmpina. Designed in 1916 and built later, the outside appearance of the house was slightly changed. It survives at 112 Carol I boulevard. A 1916 issue of Arhitectura exhibited Socolescu's plans and sketches.[d 11]

D. Ștefănescu Villa around 1930.

• Voiculescu Pharmacy, Câmpina. It was demolished after the 1977 earthquake.
• Villa of Dr. Gheorghiu, Câmpina. The villa is unchanged, on Carol I boulevard, crossing Aleea Rozelor.

Villa of Dr Gheorgiu.

• Villa of Nicolae Popescu, Câmpina, around 1933. The villa is well preserved.[100]
• Courthouse[101] of Câmpina, located at 14 1 Decembrie 1918 street. The plans were drawn around 1924.[102] In 1931 the construction was completed and the Judecatoria de Pace Mixta Campina began operations.[103] The building still shelters[23] the Judecatoria as well as the Prefecture offices.
• Courthouse[101] of Vălenii de Munte, located at 26 Mihai Bravu street. Construction began in 1923.[104] The exterior is in good shape, but as of 2010 was abandoned.[23]
• House in Vălenii de Munte, restored[b 8] between 1907 and 1908.
• House in Vălenii de Munte built about 1926–1927.[20] Its original appearance changed. It is located at 12 Mihai Eminescu street.
• Mortuary chapel of Tomescu's family[20] in Vălenii de Munte, built around 1938–1939. The painter created and executed the murals. Baptised as Holy Triniy chapel,[105] it serves as a chapel for the town cemetery.
• Royal villa in Vălenii de Munte for Princess Elena and Prince Michael. Designed and built under the guidance of Nicolae Iorga. A section plan is visible in the 1930 edition of Arhitectura.[d 12] The project was not fully realized.[b 27] The villa was destroyed by the Communists.
• Villa of Nicolae Iorga in Sinaia, built around 1918. It is classified as an historical monument.[34] The house is at 1 Gheorghe Doja street and is perfectly preserved by the family.
• Villa of lawyer Grigore Ivănceanu in Sinaia . It survives at 4 Piatra Arsă street.
• Villa of N. Scorțeanu in Sinaia , in the Cumpătu district. A photograph of the house was published in Arhitectura in 1925.[d 13]
• Villa C. I. Ionescu in Sinaia .[106]
• Villa Al. Radovici in Sinaia , transformations.[106]
• Town Hall of Sinaia, renovation.
• Villa of Florica Socolescu, built in 1925. It sits at 22 Cumpătu street in Sinaia-Cumpătu. Socolescu built it for Florica. Renovated in the 2000s, it has barely changed. Photographs and an inside plan of the villa were published in 1925 and 1941 in Arhitectura.[d 14]

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. Construction started before 1916.

Royal house, Vălenii de Munte (plan).

• Monument of the Trinity, in carved wood, for the town of Dumbrăvești.[107] It no longer exists.
• Izvoarele church, built from 1931.[108]
• Assumption's church (Adormirea Maicii Domnului) in the town of Scăeni.[109] It was built between 1936 and 1938 and published in Arhitectura in March 1938.[d 15] The roof and towers were later altered. One of the two original towers was replaced by two small ones.[110] The original aesthetic has disappeared.
• House of engineer Toma Călinescu at 1 Monumentului street.
• House of teacher Emil Popescu at 1 Armoniei street in the Boldești-Scăeni commune.[110]

• Rental property on Brâncoveanu street.
• Rental property at 105 Șerban Vodă avenue. It adopted the same model as the Gheorghe Bogdan house of Ploiești. The apartment house was later modernized, destroying the original design. A photograph of the building was published in Arhitectura in 1924.[d 16]

The Tilman brothers building in Bucharest, around 1925.

• Tilman brothers building. It is located at the intersection of FIilitti street and Tonitza street. This apartment house was probably built between 1923 and 1925.[111] A piece of its upper front sprocket is no longer present.

D. Ionescu villa, Bucharest.

• Villa on Mitropolit Antim Ivireanul street, published in Arhitectura in 1924.[d 17] No longer in existence.
• House of Engineer Al. Gheorghiade, located in Bonaparte Park. A photograph of the house was published in Arhitectura in 1926 and 1941 issues.[d 18]
• Villa D. Ionescu, built in 1927 at 26 Gheorghe Brătianu (now) street. Two pictures of the house were published in Arhitectura in 1930.[d 19] It is classified as an historical monument.[112]

• Boys High School of the railway station in Buftea (Ilfov County). It is located at 76 Mihai Eminescu boulevard. As of 2009 its name was Buftea Barbu Știrbei Economic High School.[113]
• Sfantu Nicolae și Alexandru church of Netezești, Cummune of Nuci (Ilfov county), on Principală street near the City Hall. The construction[114] and the interior (all furniture) were probably made between 1912 and 1916. It is classified as an historical monument.[115]
• The Netezești church was erected at the expense of Mrs. Al Serghiescu. Its interior paintings were executed under the guidance of painter Pavlu by artists Tonitza, St. Dumitrescu, Schweitzer-Cumpana and Bălțatu.[b 28]