Collection Guide
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A guide to the Ron Cleveland photographs, 1965-1984
P90-062 (SAFR 22583)
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Title: Ron Cleveland photographs
Date: 1965-1984
Identifier/Call Number: P90-062 (SAFR 22583)
Creator:
Cleveland, Ron, 1912-1987
Physical Description:
2977 items
Some items available online.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: The Ron Cleveland photographs, 1965-1984 (SAFR 22583, P90-062) is comprised of photographs of ship models KOHALA, KATHLEEN,
and LEON built by Ron Cleveland from 1965-1984 and photographs of vessels, model ships, and places Cleveland traveled, circa
1960s-1980s. The collection is processed at the file unit level and is open without restriction.
Physical Location: San Franicsco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
English
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other
case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Note on Description: The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information.
Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material
and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors
in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide. P
lease cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.
Note on Processing: The photographs in this collection were separated from the Ron Cleveland papers (HDC 1061, SAFR 12782).
There are dummy folders in the manuscript collection and manuscript finding aid for some of these photographs. The references
are not specific enough to point to a particular image but they do indicate the subject matter of the photographs that were
removed. It should be noted that not all negatives have associated prints, and some prints do not have associated negatives;
therefore, both the prints and the negatives may need to be consulted to view all of the images. Many of the original enclosures
were undated, and for series 1-3 circa dates were assigned based on the known completion date of the model. Most slides were
printed with date they were processed and these were used to date the photos, with the caveat that the actual photographs
may have been taken earlier than the year they were processed. The collection was processed by Amy Croft and M. Crawford,
2011.
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], P90-062 (SAFR 22583), Ron Cleveland photographs, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
SAFR-00230
These photographs were separated from the Ron Cleveland papers (HDC 1061, SAFR 12782). The Ron Cleveland manuscripts and photographs
were donated to the SF Maritime Museum by Mrs. Jo Dee Cleveland in the fall of 1990.
Historical or Biographical Note
Ron Cleveland was a California architect who had a strong interest in maritime history and the construction and practices
of 19th century sailing vessels, particularly the structure and rigging of West Coast barkentines.
Ronald Millard Cleveland was born in McClellan, Washington on June 28, 1912. He was a Fine Arts graduate of the University
of Washington and a graduate designer of the Art Center School of Los Angeles. He was a member of the American Institute of
Architects. Cleveland worked as a sketch artist in the movie industry eventually becoming the West Coast Regional Director
of Raymond Loewy Associates, a firm of industrial designers in Los Angeles where he worked for four years.
In 1947 Ron formed his own firm with his partner Sterling Leach. He worked as a principle architect at Leach, Cleveland and
Associates for 36 years, specializing in the design of over 100 Southern California supermarkets. The firm designed some permanent
exhibits at the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry and was retained in 1968 by the California Museum Foundation as
consultants for and designers of the exhibit "The Queen Mary Story" as part of Jacques Cousteau's Museum of the Sea, on board
the QUEEN MARY while she was a museum ship in Long Beach.
Ron's interest in maritime history started because his grandfather worked on spritsail barges on the Thames River in England
in the late 19th century. From 1965-1969 Cleveland built his first shop model, the English spritsail barge KATHLEEN, and donated
it to England's National Maritime Museum in May 1973. From around 1966-1970, Ron also completed a model of the Norwegian brigantine
LEON. He chose to build this model because there was a lot of extant documentation about its construction and it was a relatively
straightforward model to build.
In 1969, Ron began construction of a model of the barkentine KOHALA, which took him nearly 15 years to complete. During this
time he wrote a manuscript titled "Rigging of West Coast Barkentines and Schooners" which has details about the construction
of his model of the KOHALA. According to Ron, Karl Kortum told him that to his knowledge, no one had pursued the study of
structure and rigging of West Coast barkentines to the extent that Cleveland had over this 15 year period.
Cleveland did extensive research using archival and library resources to ascertain the specifications of the vessels that
he created, in order to build them to scale as accurately as possible. Ron also consulted with other maritime historians and
people who had worked or sailed on similar vessels in the past, particularly to ensure that he built the structure and rigging
correctly. For example, he interviewed Harlan Gow, who worked as a shipwright in the Bendixsen shipyard from 1898-1908, about
how they had built the West Coast vessels. Cleveland also interviewed Lester Stone, whose grandfather built one of the first
shipyards in California around 1850 and who later had his own shipyard. Both of these interviews are now in the San Francisco
Maritime's collections. Cleveland also relied on the assistance and knowledge of Robert "Bob" Weinstein, Captain Fred Klebingat,
and San Francisco Maritime Museum Founder and Chief Curator Karl Kortum. Ron joined the Nautical Research Guild in 1964 and
later began a
Southern California Chapter with the assistance of Robert Weinstein. The Guild is devoted to maritime history, particularly
ship model building.
In 1985, Mr. Cleveland donated the KOHALA model to the National Maritime Museum in San Francisco, now known as the San Francisco
Maritime National Historic Park. The model of the KOHALA is on permanent display in the San Francisco Maritime Museum at 900
Beach Street. In addition to this model of a vessel that played a role in 20th century maritime history and commerce, Ron's
extensive research and notes are a valuable resource about how the KOHALA was constructed and can be found in his manuscript
collection, also held here at the San Francisco Maritime. Although the age of sail has past, Ron's model of the KOHALA literally
and figuratively preserves a small piece of that history with remarkable accuracy.
Ron Cleveland was married to Jo Dee and they had three children: Stacey, Eric, and Gregory. Ron Cleveland died in Costa Mesa,
California on May 23, 1987.
Written by Amy Croft and M. Crawford, 2011.
Sources:
Ron Cleveland papers, 1867-1987 (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park: HDC1061, SAFR 12782)
The Ron Cleveland photographs, 1965-1984 (SAFR 22583, P90-062) is comprised of photographs of ship models KOHALA, KATHLEEN,
and LEON built by Ron Cleveland from 1965-1984 and photographs of vessels, model ships, and places Cleveland traveled, circa
1960s-1980s. The collection is processed at the file unit level and is open without restriction.
This collection contains photographs of ship models built by Ron Cleveland from 1965-1984. The photographs are primarily progress
shots of his work on the 4-masted barkentine KOHALA, the spritsail barge KATHLEEN, and the brigantine LEON. There are some
images of Ron Cleveland working on the models and standing in front of them after their completion. The collection also includes
photographs used in his research on how to build the models and includes images of the C.A. THAYER, FALLS OF CLYDE, and the
STAR OF INDIA. There are a few photographs from his travels including Hawaii, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England,
and the Musee de la Marine in Paris.
Arranged into four series: Series 1: Kohala (built 1901; barkentine, 4m), 1969-1984; Series 2: Kathleen (built 1901; spritsail
barge), 1968-1973; Series 3: Leon (built 1880; brigantine, 2m), circa 1966-1973; and Series 4: General research and travel
photographs, 1960s-1980s.
Ron Cleveland papers, 1867-1987 (HDC1061, SAFR 12782); Ron Cleveland photographs of Kohala (built 1901; barkentine, 4m) ship
model (P79-098, SAFR 15225); Kohala (built 1901; barkentine, 4m) ship model built by Ron Cleveland, circa 1980 (SAFR 15523);
color photoprints of Kathleen (built 1901; spritsail barge) ship model built by Ron Cleveland (K10.23818.01-K10.23818.05).
Material located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Ron Cleveland study model of the KOHALA
Material located at Los Angeles Maritime Museum
Ron Cleveland model of the spritsail barge KATHLEEN
Material located at National Maritime Museum in London
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ship models
Scale models
Sailing ships-Models
Sailing ships
Cleveland, Ron, 1912-1987
Kohala (built 1901; barkentine, 4m)
Kathleen (built 1901; spritsail barge)
Leon (built 1880; brigantine)
Color slides
Color negatives
Color prints (photographs)
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white prints
Photograph albums
Model makers