Leonardo Morales y Pedroso
BornJanuary 25, 1887
Havana, Cuba
DiedNovember 17, 1965
Havana, Cuba

Leonardo Morales y Pedroso (January 25, 1887– November 17, 1965) was one of the most prominent Cuban architect in Cuba in the first half 20th century. In 1900 he entered and attended pre-university studies at De Witt Clinton High of New York, where he obtained a bachelor's degree. In 1909 he graduated of Bachelor in Architecture from Columbia University. After graduating, he returned to Cuba in 1909 where he worked a time in the local architect firm of Newton & Sola with the architect Thomas M. Newton, who was director of the civil construction section of the Secretary of Public Works during the 2nd American intervention in Cuba. In February 1910, he returned to the United States and obtained a master's degree (Doctor) in Architecture from Columbia University in the State of New York. After obtaining his doctorate in architecture he joined in March 1910 the architecture Company Morales y Mata arquitectos, created in 1907 by his elder brother the engineer Luis Morales y Pedroso in association with the master builder Jose F. Mata. In 1917, after having built more than 30 important buildings, they decided to separate from José Mata, who had to stop working because illness and died a short time later. The company changed its name for Morales y Compañia Arquitectos with his brother the engineer Luis Morales y Pedroso as president and Leonardo as Associate together with other 7 architects. He was able to obtain noteworthy real estate commissions partly because of his family's origin, good social connections and social standing in Havana high society (his great-grandfather was the Marques de la Real Proclamación). He was named by the Cuban press of the time as the "Havana's architect" and his architectural style is recognized as the "Morales style". During 50 years Leonardo Morales y Pedroso received around 250 notable architectural commissions, some of them include:

Cuban Telephone Co. Havana, Cuba
Colegio de Belén in 1950's
La Mansión de Mark Pollack in 1931.

Some Projects with Morales y Mata Arquitectos :

Some Projects with Morales y Compañía Arquitectos :

See also

References

  • The Havana Guide - Modern Architecture 1925-1965, Eduardo Luis Rodríguez (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000) ISBN 1-56898-210-0
  • La Habana, Guia de Arquitectura, María Elena Zequeira & Eduardo Luis Rodríguez Fernandez, editors (Havana, Cuba: Ciudad de La Habana Provincial de Planificacion Fisica y Arquitectura, 1998) ISBN 84-8095-143-5
  • La Habana Arquitectura del Siglo XX, Eduardo Luis Rodríguez (Blume, 2001) ISBN 978-84-89396-17-3 (in Spanish)
  • Anuario Social de La Habana 1939, Julio de Céspedes & Miguel Baguer, editors (Havana, Cuba: Luz-Hilo, S.A., 1939) (in Spanish)
  • Directorio Social de la Habana 1948, Maria R. de Fontanills & Eduardo Fontanills, Jr., editors (Havana, Cuba: P. Fernandez y Cia., S. en C., 1948) (in Spanish)
  • Libro de Oro de la Sociedad Habanera 1949, Joaquín de Posada, Eduardo Cidre & Pablo Alvarez de Canas, editors (Havana, Cuba: Editorial Lex, 1949) (in Spanish)
  • Libro de Oro de la Sociedad Habanera 1950, Joaquín de Posada, Eduardo Cidre & Pablo Alvarez de Canas, editors (Havana, Cuba: Editorial Lex, 1950) (in Spanish)
  • Libro de Oro de la Sociedad Habanera 1953, Joaquín de Posada & Pablo Alvarez de Canas, editors (Havana, Cuba: Editorial Lex, 1953) (in Spanish)
  • Registro Social de la Habana 1955, Julio de Céspedes, editor (Havana, Cuba: Molina y Cia., S.A., 1955) (in Spanish)
  • Registro Social de la Habana 1958, Julio de Céspedes, editor (Havana, Cuba: Molina y Cia., S.A., 1958) (in Spanish)
  • Havana, Disdricts of light, Juan Luis Morales and Xavier Galmiche, editor (Paris, France: Vilo International, 2001) ISBN 2-84576-014-0
  • Los palacios telefónicos de La Habana y Madrid, Francisco Javier García Algarra, VIII Coloquio Latinoamericano de Patrimonio Industrial, La Habana, marzo de 2016 (in Spanish)
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