Background
Richard K. Kleitting was born in 1859 in Germany.
Richard K. Kleitting was born in 1859 in Germany.
He was re-called to service in the German Army, remained in France until he decided in 1883 to begin his career in America. Mr. Kletting lived for a few years in New York, and after acquires training and experience in the city, left the east to settle in Salt Lake to enter office of John Burton, architect for the University of Utah, later established his own office in the city and continued active in practice until shortly before his death.
In 1912 Mr. Kletting entered, and subsequently won (against thirty other contestants) a competition for Utah’s new State Capitol, and upon the completion of the beautiful structure in 1916 was accorded nation-wide recognition. Throughout the ensuing years he maintained a general practice and desiqned a number of important business.and public buildings in the city. Among his major works should be cited the huge Pavillion at Salt Air Beach (destroyed by fire in 1925); the Deseret News Building: Telephone Building, followed by others elsewhere in the state; the Brigham Young Academy, and several schools, churches and private homes. He was also architect of the State Mental Hospital at Provo, Utah