  We present a description of the observations and data reduction procedures
for an extensive spectroscopic and multi-band photometric study of nine high
redshift, optically-selected cluster candidates. The primary goal of the survey
is to establish new constraints on cluster and galaxy evolution, with specific
emphasis on the evolution of galaxy morphology and on the star-formation
history of the galaxies within and around distant clusters. We have measured
892 new redshifts for galaxies with R <= 23.3. The data will also serve as deep
probes of the foreground and background large-scale structures. The
observations include broad band optical imaging and spectroscopy with the Low
Resolution Imaging Spectrograph at the 10 meter W. M. Keck Observatory
telescope; K-band imaging with IRIM at the 4 meter Kitt Peak National
Observatory telescope; and deep, high angular resolution imaging with the WFPC2
onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. We also describe the procedures used to
obtain morphological information. We have established that six of the nine
cluster candidates are indeed real space density enhancements and are
representative of those typically associated with clusters of galaxies. The
remaining three candidates appear to be projections of several smaller groups
at widely separated distances. This success rate is consistent with estimates
of the false positive rate in 2D optical high-z cluster searches.
