About: Paul von Klieben

Paul von Klieben (17 March 1891 – 14 June 1953) was the key employee of Walter Knott in the early years of Knott’s Berry Farm and the restoration of the ghost town of Calico, California. He started his career in Chicago as a commercial artist and portrait painter. In 1941, he joined Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California as a staff artist, then served as art director there from 1943 until 1953. He traveled to ghost towns in the West, and designed most of the Ghost Town section of Knott’s Berry Farm. He created concept art for most of the buildings that were built there. He also drew up floor plans, oversaw the construction of buildings, and even spent some time painting concrete to look like natural rock. His Old West paintings and murals adorned the walls of many structures in the p