Blas C. Silva Boucher

Blas C. Silva Boucher was a twentieth-century Puerto Rican engineer from Ponce, Puerto Rico.[3] He is credited with the creation of the Ponce Creole architectural style, even though he was trained as an engineer, not a designer.[4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Silva and the second or maternal family name is Boucher.
Blas Silva
Blas C. Silva Boucher, circa 1909
Born
Blas C. Silva Boucher

2 February 1869[1]
Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Died27 January 1949[2]
Ponce, Puerto Rico[2]
NationalityPuerto Rican
Alma materSpanish National Engineering School
Known forEngineering
Notable work
Font-Ubides House,
Subira Residence,
Salazar-Candal House
MovementPonce Creole architecture

Early years

Blas Silva was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico on 2 February 1869.[1]

Schooling

Silva 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 (Intelligence Protection Society).[5][6] 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 Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia, Spain.[5]

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.[5]

Death and legacy

Silva died in San Juan on 27 January 1949.[2] 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).[5]

Honors

He is honored at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.[7] Ponce's best-known bridge, Puente de los Leones, located over Río Portugués on PR-1/Bulevar Miguel Pou at Calle Lolita Tizol, was named "Puente Blas Silva" before it was renamed Puente de Los Leones.[8]

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."[9] It added that "Silva, as had other foreign-trained architects, succeeded in integrating classical education with the traditional elements of the Spanish Caribbean."[10]

See also

References
  1. Documentacion/Investigacion: BSi: Colección Blas Silva. University of Puerto Rico. School of Architecture. 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  2. Documentacion/Investigacion: BSi: Colección Blas Silva. University of Puerto Rico. School of Architecture. 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  3. Historia Plasmada en la Arquitectura. By Mario Santana. El Nuevo Dia. May 14, 2000. (In Spanish.) Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  4. Jorge Rigau. Puerto Rico 1900: Turn-of-the-Century Architecture in the Hispanic Caribbean, 1890-1930. New York: Rizzoli International Publishers. 1992. page 126.
  5. Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (AACUPR). (In Spanish.) Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  6. Sociedad Protectora de la Inteligencia. Angel de la Cruz Silva, grandson. Dairies of Mr. Blas C. Silva. Volume 4. n.d., Unpublished.
  7. Architecture. TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  8. Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 69.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
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