Blas C. Silva Boucher

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Silva and the second or maternal family name is Boucher.
Blas C. Silva Boucher
Born c. 1875
Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Died c. 1945
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nationality Puerto Rican
Occupation Engineer

Blas C. Silva Boucher was a prominent twentieth-century Puerto Rican engineer from Ponce, Puerto Rico.[1] He is credited with the creation of the Ponce Creole architectural style.

Contents

Early years

Blas Silva was born in Hormigueros. He received his high school diploma from the Liceo de Mayaguez (Mayaguez Liceum) and then studied engineering in Spain through a scholarship from the Sociedad Protectora de la Inteligencia de San Juan (San Juan Intelligence Protection Society).[2]

Schooling

In Madrid, Silva did freelance school work in road, drainage, and ports engineering. He then entered the prestigious Spanish National Engineering School where he studied for eight years. He did his practicums in Aragón, Cataluña, and Valencia, Spain.[2]

Professional life

He returned to the Island where he took an engineering position in the Puerto Rico Public Works Bureau. Three years later, he resigned to establish his own private engineering practice. When the post of City Engineer became vacant in the city of Ponce, Silva was unanimously selected, from among various applicants, as the candidate to fill the position.[2]

Legacy

Among Silva's most distinguished works are the Font-Ubides House (1913), and the Subira Residence (1910), both listed in the National Register of Historic Places. He also designed and built the Salazar-Candal House (1919).[2] He is also recognized at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.

Contemporary recognition

The Puerto Rico Historical Preservation Office recently said of him, "Blas Silva was probably the most established of the 'wedding-cake architects' and was thus sought after mostly by the 'nouveau riche' of the period. Silva's houses are among the richest in Ponce, among which the [Font-Ubides] stands out for its circular porches."[3] It also added that "Silva, as had other foreign-trained architects, succeeded in integrating classical education with the traditional elements of the Spanish Caribbean."[4]

See also

Biography portal
Puerto Rico portal

References

  1. ^ Historia Plasmada en la Arquitectura. By Mario Santana. El Nuevo Dia. May 14, 2000. (In Spanish.) Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (AACUPR). (In Spanish.) Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  3. ^ Mariano G. Coronas Castro, Certifying Official; Felix Julian del Campo, State Historian; and Hector F. Santiago, State Architectural Historian, Puerto Rico Historic Preservation Office. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) August, 1987. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form (Residencia Font-Ubides). United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 3. Listing Reference Number 87001825. October 29, 1987.
  4. ^ Mariano G. Coronas Castro, Certifying Official; Felix Julian del Campo, State Historian; and Hector F. Santiago, State Architectural Historian, Puerto Rico Historic Preservation Office. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) August, 1987. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form (Residencia Subira). United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 3. Listing Reference Number 87001826. October 28, 1987.