Richard Sundeleaf

Who was Richard Sundeleaf?

Richard Wilhelm Sundeleaf was an American architect from Portland, Oregon.

Sundeleaf was born in Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood in 1900, and moved at age 6 to a neighborhood just north of Sellwood that was then known as City View Park. After graduating from Washington High School in 1918 he attended the University of Oregon's School of Architecture, in Eugene, graduating in 1923. He trained in the Beaux Arts style of traditional design.

After graduation he returned to Portland. He began working for the firm of A. E. Doyle in 1923 and remained with Doyle for a year. He then worked for four years with the firm of Sutton and Whitney. After working for other architecture firms, he decided to open his own firm in 1928. During the Great Depression, he worked for the Historic American Buildings Survey. During this time he became known for his imaginative work in industrial architecture. He combined his decorative training with a rugged functionalism in a series of distinctive warehouses and offices.