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Carl J. Rhodin papers
WRCA 087
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Title: Carl J. Rhodin papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1900-1930
Collection Number: WRCA 087
Creator:
Rhodin, Carl J. (Carl Jonas), 1877-1932
Extent:
2.92 linear feet
(7 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection consists of reports and papers on hydraulic power systems, hydroelectric developments in California and the
West, land reclamation and valuation.
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]. Carl J. Rhodin papers (WRCA 087). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Provenance unknown.
Processed by Water Resources Collections and Archives staff, 1999.
Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was MS 79/2. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Carl Jonas Rhodin was born on May 11, 1877 in Kongelf, Sweden, the son of Carl Joseph Theodor and Caroline Gustava Nathalia
(Trahn) Rhodin. He attended schools in England and at Gothenburg, Sweden, where he entered the university. He completed his
training in civil and electrical engineering at the Royal Technical University in Stockholm, from which he was graduated in
1900. After some experience in harbor construction work, he came to the United States in 1902, and during the next two years
was employed as construction engineer on the Thebes Bridge across the Mississippi River. Thereafter he practiced almost continuously
as a construction engineer, principally in California and other Pacific coast states.
Among the more important of Rhodin's works, which he either planned, constructed or supervised, were the extensions and additions
to the De Sabla Hydraulic Power System for the California Gas and Electric Co. (1906), hydraulic improvements in Sacramento
(1907-1908), and the design and construction of several of the largest buildings in San Francisco. After 1908 he devoted particular
attention to investigations of hydroelectric developments, land reclamation, valuation and rate fixing, and projected railway
extensions. Among the corporations retaining his services in such capacities were the Southern Pacific Railroad Co., Great
Western Power Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and others in Japan and China.
For many years Rhodin was chairman of the section on city planning of the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco. He was a member
of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Swedish Engineers and Engineers Club of San Francisco. He was an ardent
yachtsman and wrote a number of articles for magazines devoted to the sport. His most valuable contribution was in the development
of standards of performance and methods for handicap racing, which he calculated scientifically. Owing to his expert knowledge
of the subject, he was selected as one of the judges of the international races during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
He was married April 22, 1908, to Grace Margaret Cook, daughter of Alexander Cook, of San Francisco, and had a son, Carl William
Rhodin.
Carl J. Rhodin died May 2, 1932 in Oakland, California.
From
National Cyclopedia of Biography, Vol. 24, p. 336-337.
The collection consists of reports and papers on hydraulic power systems, hydroelectric developments in California and the
West, land reclamation and valuation.
The collection is arranged into 6 series, organized topically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Chewacan Ranch Project (Or.)
Excelsior Water and Mining Company
General Electric Power Company of California
Great Western Power Company
Marin Municipal Water District (Calif.)
Marin Water and Power Company
Northern California Power Company
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation
Southern California Edison Company
Spring Valley Water Company (San Francisco, Calif.)
Western Canada Power Company
Hydraulic machinery
Hydroelectric power plants -- California
Reclamation of land -- California
Water-power -- California
Wolverton Dam (Calif.)
Papers (documents)
Reports