We are pleased to announce that Allen Roberts and Nan Weber will be here to speak about Richard K. A. Kletting—Utah Architect and Renaissance Man: His Life and Works. on Wednesday, December 10. They will be here from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will speak at 6:00, and answer questions and sign books before and after that time.
Born in Germany in 1858, Richard Karl August Kletting was educated and trained in the classics, engineering and architecture before moving to Paris where, at age twenty-one, he was employed as a draftsman on three of the City of Lights' most impressive Second Empire, Beaux Arts monuments. After immigrating to Salt Lake City, Richard was hired by architect, John Haven Burton. Together they provided architectural designs for two of the Territory's largest projects - the Insane Asylum in Provo and University of Deseret in the Capitol City. A gifted prodigy of boundless ambition, Kletting created his own firm, started a night school and reorganized the Territorial Library. Over the ensuing thirty-five years, Kletting would masterfully design more than fifty types of buildings in thirty different architectural styles, earning him the sobriquet, "Dean of Utah Architects" from his peers. His Salt Palace, Saltair Resort and Utah State Capitol were unparalleled successes for the key figure in Utah's late 19th and early 20th century architectural milieu.
Mining a decade of research, coauthors Allen Dale Roberts, FAIA and Nan Weber provide herein a definitive treatment of Richard Kletting's life and career achievements. Blending biography with architectural history, this catalogue raisonne documents in detail each of the architect's more than 450 buildings, 125 of which remain extant. Their descriptive narrative, supported by hundreds of photos, maps and drawings, reveals the untold background stories of his relationships with client, contractors and competitions with other architects.
One chapter contains biographies of his more than thirty employees, many of whom became the next generation's leading architectural lights. Another is devoted to Kletting's design philosophy, his marketing strategy and his willingness to forsake designing Victorian buildings in favor of embracing modern design and technology. His pioneering of reinforced concrete, "fireproof" and mechanically sophisticated, contemporary structures is highlighted. As his career evolved, far-sighted Kletting involved himself in a variety of public service organizations and projects aimed at improving Salt Lake City's built environment in creative and progressive ways. The authors illuminate the many reasons why Richard Kletting should be considered a true Utah Renaissance Man.
Richard K. A. Kletting—Utah Architect and Renaissance Man: His Life and Works. Pub. by the authors, 2025. 817 pp. Oversize paperback. $65.00. **Only the first 100 copies will be signed by the authors.** To purchase a copy online, click here.
https://www.benchmarkbooks.com/pages/books/40379/alan-dale-roberts-nan-weber/richard-k-a-kletting-utah-architect-and-renaissance-man-his-life-and-works
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