Otto Karl Kleemann (March 13, 1855 – February 28, 1936),"Otto Kleemann, Architect, Dies". (March 1, 1936). ''

The Sunday Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', Section 1, p. 13. frequently alternatively spelled Otto Kleeman, was an American architect in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon. His work included the design for Portland's

Hotel Arminius The Arminius Hotel is a historic hotel in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1904 by Otto Kleeman, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The inscription A.D.U.G. stands for the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Unterstützun ...

and

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and Rectory St. Patrick Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon in the Northwest District, Portland, Oregon, Northwest District of Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

Early years

Kleemann was born in Ostrowo,

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

, Prussia, on March 13, 1855. He attended a technical school at Holzminden and college in Ostrowo, completing his schooling at sixteen. He moved to the U.S. in September 1871, making his way to San Francisco by way of the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

. He was "unacquainted with the language and customs of the American people and at first it was difficult to get steady work, but later was employed by several architects and spent nine years in California."Joseph Gasto
''Portland Oregon: Its History And Builders In Connection With The Antecedent Explorations, Discoveries And Movements Of The Pioneers That Selected The Site For The Great City Of The Pacific'' Volume III (Chicago — Portland) The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1911
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Career

He moved to Portland in September 1880 and became a draftsman at Clark & Upton for several months before joining

Justus F. Krumbein Justus F. Krumbein (1847November 1907) was an architect based in Portland, Oregon, United States, whose work included Richardsonian Romanesque designs and Italianate, cast-iron architecture. Little of his work survived the 20th Century. Early li ...

, where he worked for another several months. He worked with the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company for thirteen months on "their shops at Albina, and later he embarked in business on his own account" in 1882. He designed the original monastery in

Mt. Angel, Oregon Mt. Angel is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is northeast of Salem, Oregon, on Oregon Route 214. The population was 3,748 at the 2010 census. Mt. Angel is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Mt. Ange ...

, built many convents, and "has done much important work for the different Catholic organizations", although not Catholic himself. For a period of 17 years, Otto Kleemann was grand adjutant of the Indian War Veterans of the North Pacific Coast, a regent of Multnomah Council No. 1481 Royal Arcanum. He was also president of the Consolidation of German Speaking Societies of Oregon, a life member of the

German Aid Society German Aid Society was the name of various support groups in the United States for immigrants from Europe and people with German ancestry. They were in Sandusky, Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city i ...

, and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. A number of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Family

He married Anna Gehlich in Oakland, California, on April 19, 1877, and the couple had three children: Hugo, William, and Clara. Anna Kleemann died in 1915. Otto Kleemann remarried in June 1916, to Nellie A. Taylor, in The Dalles, Oregon."Man, 60, Marries Girl 20; Otto Kleeman, of Portland, Claims Bride at The Dalles".
(June 20, 1916). ''The Morning Oregonian'', p. 1, col. 2. Note: Text of same article uses the spellings "Kleemann" and "Kleeman".

Death

After moving to Portland in late 1880, Kleemann continued to reside there until his death, in 1936. He was buried at River View Cemetery.

Works

* Francis R. Chown House (1882), a High Victorian style building at 2030 SW Main Street, NRHP-listed * Rosamond Coursen and Walter R. Reed House (1887), a Queen Anne style architecture in the United States style building at 2036-2038 SW Main Street in Portland., NRHP-listed *

(1889), 1635 NW 19th AvenueHistoric Landmarks - Portland, Oregon
October 2009 Portland Historic Landmarks * St. Mary's Academy (1890) *

(1891), 1635 NW 19th Ave., Portland, NRHP-listed *

The Oregonian Building The Oregonian Building was a building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States, which served as the headquarters of Portland's major newspaper, '' The Oregonian'', from 1892 to 1948. It was the first steel-framed building constructed in the W ...

(1892), SW 6th and Alder, demolished 1950; consulting architect only (to

Reid & Reid Reid & Reid, also known as Reid Brothers, was an American architectural and engineering firm that was active from 1880 to 1932. Established in Indiana by Canadian immigrants, the firm moved to the West Coast and became was the most prominent f ...

) *

(1904) at 1022-1038 SW Morrison Street, Portland, NRHP-listed * Reed-Wells House (1905) at 2168 NE Multnomah Street, Portland, NRHP-listed * St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (1898), The Dalles *

Queen of Angels Priory Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mot ...

, 840 S. Main St., Mt. Angel (Otto Kleemann et al.), NRHP-listed

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleemann, Otto Architects from Portland, Oregon 1855 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Prussian people People from Posen-West Prussia