Kletting was born on July 1, 1858,[1] at Unterböhringen,[2] in the Kingdom of Württemberg, Germany.[3] He was one of 16 children. He first decided that he wanted to become an architect when he was fifteen, while working in a stone yard where he cut stone. A year later, he became a junior draftsman on railroad construction work. When Kletting was sixteen he arrived in Paris and learned modern architectural design from a big contracting firm. He served in the German army for one year.[2] He left for the United States of America in 1883, when he was twenty five years old. Kletting married a woman named Mary Elizabeth Saaner on 18 May 1905 in San Francisco. Their children were Mary Wilhelmine born 17 August 1906, Walter born 30 November 1907 and Helen Elizabeth born 28 May 1910. All the children were born in Salt Lake City, Utah.[4]
Richard K.A. Kletting was hired as an architect and worked on many Salt Lake City buildings, both residential and commercial. He became a very well known architect in Utah.
The University of Deseret was Kletting's first architectural design commissioned in Salt Lake. It later became known as the University of Utah in 1892. His next commission was the original Saltair resort in 1893, on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. It stood on over two thousand pilings and posts. It became known for its detailed woodwork and Moorish design. It also featured the world's largest dance floor. Saltair was intended as a family resort that hoped to provide a safe atmosphere for families with the supervision of Church leaders. In 1899 the original historic Salt Palace was built and Richard Kletting was the architect. It had a racing track, a theatre, and a dance hall. The building eventually burned down on August 29, 1910. In 1912, Kletting was chosen among forty other competing architects to design the Utah State Capitol building in 1912. His design was based on the style of the time of the Renaissance, called Renaissance Revival.[6] Kletting's design was ultimately selected. Utah granite and Georgia marble were common materials throughout the capitol building. It had a large dome and twenty four columns in its colonnade. The total cost for the project was $2,739,528.
Kletting built many other buildings, including the Mcintyre Building which is claimed to be Utah's first fire-proof building. The building was of constructed of concrete and steel. The interior included metal railings, metal windows and trim, and plaster and marble walls and floors.[7] It was constructed for $180,000. It was the first and only "skyscraper" in Utah until two years later, when the Boston and Newhouse Buildings were constructed. Richard Kletting was a well-accomplished architect, but he was also interested in forestry.
Beaver County Courthouse (1882) (what reliable source says Kletting designed this? Its NRHP doc says "architect unknown".)
Territorial Insane Asylum (1885), planned by architect John H. Burton during 1881 until his death, after which his intern/employee/colleague Kletting was appointed to complete the project.[8]
Lollin Block (1894), 238 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, NRHP-listed[9]
Oquirrh School (1894), 350 S. 400 E., Salt Lake City, NRHP-listed[9] There is some uncertainty on Kletting's relationship to a William Carroll, see Talk:Oquirrh School.
J. R. Allen House (1899-1900), 1047 E. 13200 South, Draper, Utah, NRHP-listed[9] Asserted to be one of relatively few surviving residential works by Kletting.
On February 22, 1897, Richard Kletting organized the first forest reserve in Utah, called the Utah Forestry Association. It helped in the management and preservation of Utah's forests and mountains. In 1964, Kletting Peak, standing at 12,055 feet, in Summit County, Utah, was named for Richard K.A. Kletting. He died on September 25, 1948, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1]
^The Le Bon Marché moved to a revolutionary new building completed in 1869, at 24 rue de Sèvres, which was enlarged in 1872, with help from the engineering firm of Gustave Eiffel; Kletting, who left France in 1883 at age 25, would have been age 14 at the time of the enlargement, but could have been involved in continuous renovations thereafter.
^The 1876–1883 construction period of the spectacular Crédit Lyonnais headquarters building in the Second Arrondissement of Paris (which includes Montmarte) also matches up to timing of Kletting's biographical assertion.
^Sacré-Cœur was built during 1875-1914, also matching up to