Name/Title
Stronger, 1936Entry/Object ID
2022.18.6Description
A negative and print photo of the ship Stronger in the Newport Harbor.
This 230-foot steel steam ship was the private yacht/expedition vessel of local resident Captain Fred E. Lewis, who was able to berth the vessel in front of his very large red brick home on the Balboa Peninsula Point (later owned by William Bartholomew.) Stranger was the last and largest of Lewis’ four large motor yachts with lengths of 110, 135, 175, and 230 feet.
Aboard his Strangers, Lewis made expeditions to the Galapagos, the South Seas, Hawaii, Samoa, and Alaska. On these voyages he augmented his large professional crew with a dozen local Sea Scouts. After each voyage, he brought wild animals and birds to the San Diego Zoo including turtles, alligators, crocodiles, flamingos, monkeys, a Grizzly bear, a Walrus, and live fish. Stranger was fitted out to accommodate these species.
This information comes from the picture book “Large Yachts of Newport Harbor Before World war II” complied by well-known local historian and sailor John Blaich (1918-2023.) With the help of local volunteers and several maritime museums, Blaich has left our residents and sailors with an excellent look back on the remarkable early days of big yachts in Newport Harbor. Blaich’s knowledge of Lewis and his yachts
largely came from his experience aboard Stranger in the1936-37 South Pacific expedition as an 18-year-old Sea Scout.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
NegativeCollection
Caldwell Family collectionMade/Created
Date made
Jan 1936 - Jan 1936Time Period
20th CenturyLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Secondary Object Term
Photograph, Black-and-WhiteNomenclature Secondary Object Term
NegativeNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Sub-Class
Photographic MediaNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Class
Photographic T&ENomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 06: Tools & Equipment for CommunicationSearch Terms
StrongerCreate Date
July 12, 2022Update Date
January 28, 2025
