In November, Allen Roberts and Nan Weber released their 827-page volume on the Dean of Utah architecture: “Richard K.A. Kletting: Utah Architect and Renaissance Man.” Drawing on a decade of in-depth research, co-authors Allen Dale Roberts, FAIA, and Nan Weber offer a definitive treatment of Richard Kletting’s life and career achievements. Blending biography with architectural history, this catalogue raisonné 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 Kletting’s relationships with clients and contractors, as well as his competitions with other architects. One chapter features biographies of his more than 30 employees, many of whom went on to become the next generation’s leading architectural lights. Another is devoted to Kletting’s design philosophy, marketing strategy and willingness to forsake designing Victorian buildings in favor of embracing modern design and technology. His pioneering of “fireproof” and mechanically sophisticated reinforced concrete structures is highlighted. As his career evolved, the far-sighted Kletting became involved in a variety of public service organizations and projects aimed at improving Salt Lake City’s built environment in creative and progressive ways. Ultimately, the authors highlight the numerous reasons why Richard Kletting should be regarded as a true Utah Renaissance man. Born in Germany in 1858, Richard Karl August Kletting was educated and trained in the classics, engineering and architecture in his homeland before moving to Paris, where, at the age of 21, he was employed as a draftsman on three of the City of Light’s most impressive Second Empire Beaux-Arts monuments. Kletting immigrated to the U.S. in 1883. The day after he arrived in Salt Lake City, Richard was hired by architect John Haven Burton, and together they provided architectural designs for two of the Territory’s largest projects — the Insane Asylum in Provo and the University of Deseret in the capital city. A gifted prodigy of boundless ambition, Kletting soon created his own firm, started a night school and reorganized the Territorial Library. Within a few years, he became Utah’s leading architect. Over the ensuing 35 years, Fisher Mansion, photo courtesy of Utah Historical Society Richard K.A. Kletting: Utah Architect and Renaissance Man Allen Roberts and Nan Weber Launch Definitive Treatment Kletting would masterfully design more than 50 types of buildings in 30 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. Authors Allen Roberts and Nan Weber first met in late 2015. Architect and architectural historian Allen Roberts had been researching Utah’s historic architects for more than four decades and had conducted walking and bus tours of Kletting’s buildings for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Institute for Classical Art & Architecture (ICAA) and the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning Program. In 2014-2015, he worked as the lead architect on the restoration of Kletting’s Enos Wall Mansion and Carriage House on South Temple. Nan Weber came upon the Fisher Mansion soon after she bought her home in Salt Lake City’s Poplar Grove neighborhood in 1985. Learning that the mansion was a work of architect Richard Kletting and being familiar with some of the history of the Fisher Brewing Company, she set out to discover more of his designs. She was well aware that the Utah State Capitol was one of Kletting’s buildings and began creating a chronology of his life, family and works. When Weber began documenting the Enos Wall Mansion in 2015, she found that Roberts, of the CRSA architectural firm, was the lead architect on the restoration. Besides their shared interest in Kletting’s career, the two discovered they had more in common — they were both from architecturally rich Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and shared a love for researching architectural history. During their first conversations, they decided to co-author a book on the life, career and buildings of Kletting. Since then, Nan has served as a docent at the Utah State Capitol and both have lectured, individually or together, on diverse aspects of Kletting’s architectural career. Currently, both authors are serving on the Friends of Fisher Mansion Board of Directors. At the time they began their research, they knew only a handful of Kletting’s most famous projects. By the time they concluded their research in 2025 (although, in reality, the search for more of his buildings continues), they had discovered well over 400 of Kletting’s architectural projects, as well as many non-architectural ones. The Enos Wall Mansion 26 REFLEXION
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==