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Omar J. Lillevang papers
WRCA 210
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Title: Omar J. Lillevang papers
Date (inclusive): 1905-1990
Date (bulk): 1955-1975
Collection Number: WRCA 210
Creator:
Lillevang, Omar J.
Extent:
8.06 linear feet
(18 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection consists of project files and technical reports of Consulting Coastal Engineer Omar J. Lillevang.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Omar J. Lillevang papers (WRCA 210). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Gift of Fredric Raichlen on behalf of Lillevang's estate, 2000.
Processed by Melissa McGann, 2000.
Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was MS 2000/1. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Omar Johansen Lillevang was born on September 8, 1914. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937 with
a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. Under the direction of Morrough P. O'Brien, Lillevang was introduced to
coastal engineering and wrote his senior thesis on two sand movement and shoaling model studies (Santa Barbara and Santa Monica,
California). His specialty during his long engineering career was in the design of nearshore sited armored structures constructed
of material ranging from stone to special concrete armor units.
From 1938 until 1943, Lillevang worked with the firm of Quinton, Code and Hill-Leeds and Barnard, involved in the practice
of civil engineering. During World War II (1943-1946), he served as a diving and marine salvage officer with the U.S. Naval
Construction Battalions, the Seabees, on the South Pacific. In 1946 he joined the staff of the Los Angeles consulting engineering
firm of Leeds, Hill and Jewett, the same firm that he had worked for before the war. The firm provided engineering services
generally related to private, corporate, and governmental entities with the responsible engineer on each project usually also
in direct charge of construction surveillance. Lillevang served as Senior Engineer and Project Engineer on a wide variety
of the firm's projects. In 1960, he became Vice President in charge of the firm's coastal and harbors works. In 1964, he left
Leeds, Hill and Jewett and began practicing independently as a consulting civil engineer specializing in coastal engineering.
One of Lillevang's primary objectives throughout his 30 years of private practice was to avoid office growth so that he could
remain directly involved in all aspects of a project from preliminary to final design.
During his career, Lillevang was involved in the conceptual and final design of nearly twenty breakwaters constructed from
stone or special concrete shapes. His direct involvement in physical model studies of more than half of these provided Lillevang
with a unique approach to marine structure design using the model study results as a design tool. A major effort for a number
of years dealt with the design and subsequent upgrade of the breakwaters of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant of the Pacific
Gas and Electric Company. Prior to this engagement he was involved in coastal aspects of several other nuclear power plants,
including San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant for the Southern California Edison Company, and the initial design of an artificial
island for a nuclear power and sea water conversion plant for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Lillevang's coastal engineering expertise often was sought overseas as well as in the United States. He was actively engaged
in projects in Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico, Canada, and South Africa. He was a professional engineer registered
in California and several other states. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member and Director
of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, and a member of the Permanent International Association of Navigation
Congresses, the United States Power Squadrons, and the Society of American Military Engineers. In 1980, Lillevang was the
recipient of the ASCE's John G. Moffatt-Frank E. Nichol Harbor and Coastal Engineering Award.
Omar J. Lillevang died January 23, 2000 from complications of a stroke.
Adapted from "In Memoriam," by Fredric Raichlen,
Shore & Beach, Vol. 68, no. 2 (April 2000), p. 28.
The collection consists of Omar J. Lillevang's project files, compiled during the course of his career as a consulting engineer,
and technical reports and specifications. Project files consist of correspondence, reports, drawings, blueprints, data, photographs,
etc. Technical reports consist of documents written by Lillevang, and documents collected by Lillevang on a variety of topics.
Project locations are primarily Southern California, but other parts of California and international locales are included
as well.
The collection is arranged into 3 series as follows:
- Series 1. Project Files, 1905-1990
- Series 2. Reports and Specifications, 1923-1983
- Series 3. Oversized Items
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Leeds, Hill, Barnard, and Jewett
Leeds, Hill, and Jewett
Breakwaters -- Design and construction
Coastal engineering
Electric power-plants -- Design and construction
Harbors -- Design and construction
Marinas -- Design and construction
Nuclear power plants -- California -- Design and construction
Sewage disposal -- California, Southern
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Calif.)
Project files
Reports