| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Gift of Albert Ratner |
| Title: | Albert Ratner Papers |
| Dates: | 1929-2017 |
| Extent: | 2.6 linear feet (4 boxes) |
| Abstract: | Albert B. Ratner, was born in Cleveland in 1927. Albert married Faye Katz (1931-1978) in 1950 and had two children, Deborah Ratner (b. 1959) and Brian Ratner (b. 1957). Faye was killed in an automobile accident in 1978. Albert later married Audrey Gilbert Pritzker (b. 1928) in 1981. In the 1950s, Albert joined the family business, Forest City Materials, which had been established as a lumber and building materials company back in the 1920s. He continued to serve in numerous positions at Forest City until the company was purchased by Brookfield Asset Management in 2018. Albert has served on the governing boards of numerous local, state, and international business and cultural organizations. His community involvement and philanthropic activities have been widely recognized by organizations and agencies such as Builders Magazine, the Business Hall of Fame of Cleveland, Financial World Magazine, Harvard Business Club, the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Albert Ratner Papers collection consists of an album, articles, awards, books, CDs, certificates, a checkbook, correspondence, eulogies, greeting cards, letters, magazines, newspapers, newspaper clippings, notes, an obituary, photographs, programs, a report, a resume, a songbook, speeches, and tapes. |
| MS Number | MS 5442 |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The Ratner Family has been prominent in the Cleveland, Ohio, area since the mid-twentieth century. Moishe Ratowczer (later Ratner, 1866-1940) and Pesha Koppelman (1874-1940) of Bialystok (in the Polish lands of the Russian empire) had nine children: Frieda (Isenstadt, 1888-1952); Charles (1893-1939); Leonard (1896-1974); Dora (Sukenik, 1900-1976); Harry (1902-1961); Irene (Zehman, 1904-1974); Max (1907-2002); Fannye (Shafran, 1911-2001), and Joseph (1911-1921). The family immigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Cleveland in 1921. Albert B. Ratner, the son of Leonard Ratner and Lillian Bernstein, was born in Cleveland in 1927. Albert married Faye Katz (1931-1978) in 1950 and had two children, Deborah Ratner (b. 1959) and Brian Ratner (b. 1957). Faye was killed in an automobile accident in 1978. Albert later married Audrey Gilbert Pritzker (b. 1928) in 1981. In the 1950s, Albert joined the family business, Forest City Materials, which had been established as a lumber and building materials company back in the 1920s. He continued to serve in numerous positions at Forest City until the company was purchased by Brookfield Asset Management in 2018. Albert graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. degree in forestry. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Long Island University in 1990 and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, in 1992. Albert has served on the governing boards of numerous business and cultural organizations including Glengary, LLC, Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., Resilience Capital Partners, LLC, RPM International, Inc., the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Shoes & Clothes for Kids, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the International Council of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Enterprise Foundation, the Ohio Third Frontier, the Ohio Strategic Planning Advisory Team, the Ohio Transportation Task Force, the State of Ohio Operations Improvement Task Force, the Cleveland Jewish Community Federation, the United Jewish Communities, the American Jewish Committee, the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel, the John A. Hannah Society at Michigan State University, the National Realty Committee, the Cleveland Initiative for Education, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, United Way, and American Greetings. His community involvement and philanthropic activities have been widely recognized by organizations and agencies such as Builders Magazine, the Business Hall of Fame of Cleveland, Financial World Magazine, Harvard Business Club, the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Albert Ratner Papers collection consists of an album, articles, awards, books, CDs, certificates, a checkbook, correspondence, eulogies, greeting cards, letters, magazines, newspapers, newspaper clippings, notes, an obituary, photographs, programs, a report, a resume, a songbook, speeches, and tapes.
This collection will be of interest to those interested in philanthropy in Cleveland. Those with an interest in the Cleveland Jewish community will also find this collection to be of value. This collection will also be invaluable to those interested in the personal and professional lives of Albert Ratner and the Ratner family.
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Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 4623 Max Ratner Papers; PG 548 Ratner Family Photographs; and MS 5044 Ratner Family Papers.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5442 Albert Ratner Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
Gift of Albert Ratner, 2018.
Processed by Sean Martin and Jeffrey Zuckerman.
Series I: Speeches by Albert Ratner 1994-2015 and undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Boston Tomorrow Speech April 5, 1994 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Forum for the Nineties, Pittsburgh, PA October 25, 1994 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Business Hall of Fame, Albert Ratner Induction October 9, 1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Women of Influence Luncheon October 15, 1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence Luncheon, Introducing Mary Pipher October 22, 1997 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Best Company 1998 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | First Ruth Ratner Miller Award for the Advancement of Cleveland April 23, 1998 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Flats Oxbow Speech December 7, 2000 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | The City Club of Cleveland Friday Forum Series October 19, 2001 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | America the Beautiful, Boston November 27, 2001 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | New York Times Building, architectural unveiling December 13, 2001 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Park Synagogue, rededication of Main Sanctuary October 17, 2002 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Ratner School 40th Anniversary May 17, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Park Synagogue, honoring Rabbi Joshua Skoff May 18, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | International Downtown Association Conference (IDA) keynote speech, tape September 30, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | International Downtown Association Conference (IDA) keynote speech, text September 30, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Ashland University October 2, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Chicago School of Real Estate, Roosevelt University October 30, 2003 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Urban Community School, Ground Breaking Ceremony June 23, 2004 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | The Jewish Federation: Live Generously August, 2004 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Downtown Development Real Estate Executives, Dallas April 6, 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute Conference, University of Denver-Storm College of Law April 21, 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Honor Award, Forest City acceptance speech, National Building Museum June 1, 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Urban Land Institute speech, acceptance of Nichols Prize, New York City October 14, 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Urban Land Institute speech, acceptance of Nichols Prize and Opportunities for Growth, Los Angeles November 2, 2005 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Pittsburgh Gaming Public Hearing April 18-19, 2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Beta Alpha Tau speeches September 9, 2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | International Economic Development Council September 19, 2006 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | United Jewish Communities Winter Leadership Meetings 2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | United Jewish Communities Winter Leadership Meetings 2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | United Jewish Communities Winter Leadership Meetings 2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Michigan State University Land Summit, Lansing February 19, 2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Bob Lavson Tribute April, 2007 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34 | Greater Ohio Restoring Prosperity Policy Summit September 10, 2008 | |||||||||
| 1 | 35 | Columbia University, Albert Ratner's speech March 19, 2009 | |||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Charles Eisenman Award to Kol Israel Foundation April 26, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 37 | Cleveland International Hall of Fame May 12, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 38 | "What I've Learned: Quips, quotes and lessons from my four wonderful years with a boss, mentor and friend" August, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 39 | Gala, Roosevelt University November 18, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 40 | Gala, Roosevelt University November 18, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 41 | Gala, Roosevelt University November 18, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 42 | Gala, Roosevelt University November 18, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 43 | 9th Annual Real Estate Gala, Chicago November 18, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 44 | Wharton November 22, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 45 | Wharton November 22, 2010 | |||||||||
| 1 | 46 | Michelle A. Rhee, The City Club of Cleveland 100th Anniversary March 17, 2011 | |||||||||
| 1 | 47 | Cleveland International Hall of Fame May 11, 2011 | |||||||||
| 1 | 48 | Cleveland International Hall of Fame, Class of 2011 May 11, 2011 | |||||||||
| 1 | 49 | Hebrew Academy July, 2012 | |||||||||
| 1 | 50 | College Now, Albert Ratner's speech January 10, 2014 | |||||||||
| 1 | 51 | College Now, Albert Ratner's speech January 10, 2014 | |||||||||
| 1 | 52 | College Now, Albert Ratner's speech January 10, 2014 | |||||||||
| 1 | 53 | Radiance, Cleveland State University May 8, 2015 | |||||||||
| 1 | 54 | Albert Ratner, Ashland University undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 55 | Business Hall of Fame, Albert Ratner induction/election undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 56 | Eight County Regions of Northeast Ohio undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 57 | "My dog, My independence": Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 58 | Nefesh B'Nefesh, Jewish Souls United undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 59 | New York University Polytech undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 60 | New York University Polytech undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 61 | Radio Station: KDKA AM 1020, Pittsburgh History Show at Station Square undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 62 | The Balashikha Clinic: A Future of Russia Foundation Project undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 63 | Urban Land Institute speech undated | |||||||||
Series II: Albert Ratner Professional and Personal Papers 1929-2017 and undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Governor Bruce Babbitt 1985-1986 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Battyhoo, Beta Alpha Tau, "The Unlikely Story of a High School Fraternity" by Saul Isler 1929-2006 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 40th Birthday, Albert Ratner 1967-1968 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | 80th Birthday, Albert Ratner 2007-2008 | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Cleveland Heights High School, 42nd class reunion July 9, 1988 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | Cleveland International Hall of Fame, 2013 Class May 8, 2013 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Cleveland Jewish Center, certificates undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Cleveland Jewish News November 12, 2004 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Cleveland Magazine, "The 30 People Who Defined Cleveland" December, 2002 | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Cleveland State University 2012 Commencement December 16, 2012 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Cleveland and Tower City 1955, 1984, 1999 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | "Dedicate New Cleveland Station Today" by Walter S. Lacher September, 1987 | |||||||||
| 2 | 13 | Executive Department, State of Ohio July 1, 2015 | |||||||||
| 2 | 14 | Family, "A Ratner Family Songbook" 1996 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 15 | Family, greeting cards (anniversary, birthday, get well) undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 16 | Family, letters from Israel undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 17 | Family, Simchat Torah and Shallos Shudas October 15, 2006 | |||||||||
| 2 | 18 | Family, thank you notes 1955, 1970, 2014-2017 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 19 | Family, wedding invitation undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 20 | Family, Yahrtzeit dates 2013 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 21 | Focus: Forest City's People and Properties Spring 2007 | |||||||||
| 2 | 22 | Forest City Enterprises, State of Ohio Articles of Incorporation 2008-2010 | |||||||||
| 2 | 23 | Forest City Enterprises training, program October 11, 1969 | |||||||||
| 2 | 24 | Ryuta Fujita, correspondence to Albert Ratner December 11, 2012 | |||||||||
| 2 | 25 | Grand Avenue Tour Plan, Los Angeles undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Headstone, Goldie Bernstein 1940 | |||||||||
| 2 | 27 | Huntington at 150: A Banking Genealogy 2016 | |||||||||
| 2 | 28 | Fred Isenstadt, article undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 29 | Jewish National Fund Golden Book Certificate from Rebecca Cohen Long September 27, 2006 | |||||||||
| 2 | 30 | Avery Meckler, eulogy February 9, 2006 | |||||||||
| 2 | 31 | Ruth Miller, passing November 26, 1996 | |||||||||
| 2 | 32 | Sam Miller, resume undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 33 | David D. Myers, eulogy July 25, 1999 | |||||||||
| 2 | 34 | Passover Mailing April, 2012 | |||||||||
| 2 | 35 | Milton Petrie, letter from Albert Ratner June 25, 1991 | |||||||||
| 2 | 36 | Preston's H.O.P. E. 2002-2003 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 37 | Albert Ratner, photographs (group pictures and individual portraits) 1952-2012 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 38 | Albert Ratner, poems: "Casey at the Bat", "Time Is...", "Meaning of Numbers" 2007 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 39 | Albert Ratner, Ratner House Books 1989-1990 and undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 40 | Albert Ratner, recommendation letters 1999-2017 | |||||||||
| 2 | 41 | Betty Ratner, eulogy December 11, 2005 | |||||||||
| 2 | 42 | Faye Katz Ratner, award, Cleveland Heights High School May 30, 2012 | |||||||||
| 2 | 43 | Faye Ratner, Gestalt Program, Tel Aviv University 1995-2000 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Leonard Ratner, 75th birthday, letters and telegrams 1971 | |||||||||
| 3 | 2 | Leonard Ratner, 75th birthday, miscellany 1944, 1971 | |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | Lillian Ratner, checkbook 1965-1966 | |||||||||
| 3 | 4 | Roosevelt Jr. High School, Book of Verse 1941 | |||||||||
| 3 | 5 | Roosevelt Jr. High School newspaper, The Reflector 1939-1942 and undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 6 | Esther Rosenberg, eulogy January 15, 2001 | |||||||||
| 3 | 7 | Seeds of Peace, miscellaneous 1996-2001 | |||||||||
| 3 | 8 | Sherri Park, newspaper clipping undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 9 | Barbara Shlensky, eulogy July 22, 2003 | |||||||||
| 3 | 10 | Ernie Siegler, eulogy January 25, 2004 | |||||||||
| 3 | 11 | Norma Siegler, eulogy October 17, 1999 | |||||||||
| 3 | 12 | Spots of Light: Yad Vashem, CD undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 13 | Herbert Strawbridge, 1st Annual Ruth Ratner Miller Award April 23, 1998 | |||||||||
| 3 | 14 | Arlene Struchen, eulogy January 23, 1998 | |||||||||
| 3 | 15 | Hershal Tanzer, obituary 2003 | |||||||||
| 3 | 16 | Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture 2007 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Testimonial Dinner, The Ratner Brothers April 13, 1950 | |||||||||
| 4 | 2 | The Unbroken Chain of Jewish Tradition undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 3 | The Urban Land Institute Jesse Clyde Nichols Prize undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | United Jewish Communities General Assembly November 16-19, 2003 | |||||||||
| 4 | 5 | United Jewish Communities General Assembly 2005 | |||||||||
| 4 | 6 | Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Jewish Archives report 2012-2013 | |||||||||
| 4 | 7 | Judge George W. White, memorial program November 19, 2011 | |||||||||
| 4 | 8 | Wittenberg School of Expression play, "Acting As We Like It" May 14, 1939 | |||||||||
| 4 | 9 | Sidney Zehman, articles 1970 and undated | |||||||||