Nationality Puerto Rican Name Blas Silva | Role Engineer Known for Engineering | |
Full Name Blas C. Silva Boucher Born 2 February 1869 Hormigueros, Puerto Rico Notable work Font-Ubides House,
Subira Residence,
Salazar-Candal House Movement Ponce Creole architecture Died January 27, 1949, Ponce, Puerto Rico Alma mater Technical University of Madrid | ||
Blas C. Silva Boucher was a twentieth-century Puerto Rican engineer from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is credited with the creation of the Ponce Creole architectural style.
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Early years
Blas Silva was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico on 2 February 1869.
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). 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.
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.
Death and legacy
Silva died in Ponce on 27 January 1949. 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).
Honors
He is honored 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." It added that "Silva, as had other foreign-trained architects, succeeded in integrating classical education with the traditional elements of the Spanish Caribbean."