By Frank Perry, Curator Capitola Historical Museum
Photo By Ravnos Captures Capitola in Early 20th Century
From the Gordon van Zuiden collection The picture was taken from the end of the wharf looking back toward the Capitola waterfront. Beyond the sailboat is the old Hotel Capitola
Santa Cruz photographer Ole Ravnos died in 1945, but left behind an extraordinary legacy of vintage pictures. That legacy is the subject of a new exhibition at the Capitola Historical Museum.
“The richness of history emerges when you tell a compelling story about the past that can make you feel like you were there,” says museum board member Gordon van Zuiden. “The photos of Ole Ravnos do that better, in my opinion, than those of any other photographer of Capitola at the beginning of the 20th century.”
Van Zuiden is just one of a small but growing number of Ravnos fans. Sentinel staff photographer (and 2016 Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year) Shmuel Thaler counts himself among them. “The photographs by Ole Ravnos are far more than a simple record or archive,” he says. “Through them we see into the beauty and soul of a community he obviously loved.”
Ole Ravnos was born in southern Norway in 1862 and emigrated to America around age 20. He eventually settled in Denver, Colorado, where he worked as a carpenter. He did not change his occupation to photographer until after he came to Santa Cruz around 1905 with his wife, Amelia. He seems to have started out slowly, first renting a photo gallery opposite the beach in Capitola during the summers of 1907 and 1908. He returned to Capitola for the summers of 1912 through 1915, renting the gallery for $25 per month.
It was during those six summers in Capitola that Ravnos took the photographs in the exhibition. He took general views of the creek, beach, hotel, and wharf, which he sold as souvenirs to visitors. He also took photos of camping groups and printed them on postcards which the campers could buy and mail to relatives. “Dear Ma, Pa, & Ruth. Here is a picture of camp, which was taken before we arrived,” wrote one young man on the back of a Ravnos postcard from 1915.
Ravnos often covered planned events, such as picnics and parades, but he also kept his camera ready for the unexpected, including a shark caught by bathers.
Ravnos’s Capitola gallery provided services to the growing ranks of amateur photographers. He rented Kodak cameras and would develop and print the pictures when the cameras were returned.
In late 1915 he opened a studio on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz and began advertising: “Ravnos Photos Have Class. Telephone 1063J.” The store was called “Ravnos—Photo and Art.” Presumably his artist wife was selling her paintings there, too. They kept the Santa Cruz store for several years.
The Museum exhibition showcases 35 images, all of Capitola from over a hundred years ago. It is the first-ever exhibition devoted entirely to the work of Ole Ravnos. Some of the images have never before been exhibited.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, March 19, from noon to 2 p.m. at 410 Capitola Avenue. The Museum is open Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. and the “Photos by Ravnos” exhibition will stay up through the end of the year.