Sundeleaf, Richard, 1900-1987

American architect Richard Sundeleaf (1900-1987) worked in Portland, Oregon and became known in the 1920s and 1930s for his imaginative work in industrial architecture. He combined the decorative style of "Beaux-Arts" architecture with rugged functionalism in distinctive warehouses and offices. In the late 1940s he was a leading local proponent of the "Streamline Moderne" style, in which the spirit of the machine age and the concepts of aerodynamics shape the designs of buildings. Noted public buildings include the Woodbury and Co. warehouse, 1939; the Bearing Service Co. building, 1944; the General Co. building (now Dynagraphics Inc.) 1945; the Francis and Hopkins Motor showroom (now the University Station Post Office) 1949; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1955; and the Portland Medical Center, 1957.

Richard Sundeleaf was born in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland in 1900, and moved to the Sellwood area as a child. He graduated from Washington High School in 1918 and attended the University of Oregon, graduating from its School of Architecture in 1923.

Sundeleaf returned to Portland, where he worked for the firm of A. E. Doyle for one year. He then spent four years with the firm of Sutton and Whitney before opening his own firm in 1928. During the Great Depression, he worked for the Historic American Building Survey.

Trained in the "Beaux Arts" style of traditional design, Sundeleaf became well-known in the 1920s and 1930s for his imaginative work in industrial architecture. He combined his decorative training with a rugged functionalism in a series of distinctive warehouses and offices.

In the late 1940s, he was a leading local proponent of the "Streamline Moderne" style, in which the spirit of the machine age and the concepts of aerodynamics shaped the design of the building.

His noted public buildings include the Woodbury and Co. warehouse, 1939; the Bearing Service Co. building, 1944; the General Co. building (now Dynagraphics Inc.) 1945; the Francis and Hopkins Motor showroom (now the University Station Post Office) 1949; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1955; and the Portland Medical Center, 1957.

Sundeleaf died in 1987.

Source: Anonymous. "Architect Richard Sundeleaf Dies." Portland (Oregon) Oregonian, March 11, 1987.