death_place death_date birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation
denver , united states 1974 1883 ureterp , netherlands 07 september 1883 saco rienk de boer
 saco rienk de boer landscape architect
saco rienk de boer

saco rienk deboer -lrb- born as sake rienk de boer on september 7 , 1883 , ureterp , the netherlands ; died august 1974 , denver , united states -rrb- , was a landscape architect and civic planner .
he was the official landscape architect of denver from 1910 to 1931 .
he also designed the planned community of boulder city , nevada .
in 1919 , he joined with another dutchman , m. walter pesman , to form a partnership .
together their projects were many , among them the landscaping of both sides of speer boulevard in denver , and the innovative bonnie brae subdivision , with its winding streets .
as a landscape architect , s r deboer designed dozens of city parks and hundreds of private gardens .
as a city planner , he co-authored denver 's first zoning code , helped devise many of its roadways , and led in the development of mountain parks .
he was partially responsible for such signature sites as denver botanic gardens and red rocks amphitheatre .
deboer 's work extended well beyond denver .
he consulted for cities along the front range -- including greeley , grand junction , boulder , golden , longmont , aurora , fort collins , and englewood -- and far beyond , including scottsbluff , nebraska ; brainerd , minnesota ; ruidoso , new mexico ; idaho falls , idaho ; boulder city , nevada ; and glendive , montana .
he even worked with national resources planning on more comprehensive planning , spending more than a decade devising programs for the states of utah , new mexico , and wyoming .
more globally , saco deboer articulated the content and design of the rocky mountain urban landscape , with a legacy revealed not only in the fabric of cities or the design of parks , but also in the hundreds of publications on everything from aesthetic design to soil characteristics in the transmontane west .
as one memorial put it , `` probably no other person has done as much to make this region a green oasis . ''
upon awarding him with the civis princeps award in 1972 , regis college noted that `` many a good and generous man aspires to put a personal mark on his own city .
few have done so as indelibly -- though as unobtrusively -- as saco rienk deboer . ''
more than a talented designer and a practiced aesthete , they asserted that `` his was a ` voice before its time , ' not only in ecological awareness , but in his concern over the ` modern ' tendency towards dehumanization . ''
over his lifetime , sr deboer was recognized in many ways : as a fellow in the american society of landscape architects ; as a member of the colorado state planning board , the american institute of planners , and the netherlands institute for city planning and housing .
he received an award of merit from the colorado forestry and horticulture association , life membership in the colorado society of engineers , and honorary membership in both the american institute of architects and american society of planning officials .
he was honored with a distinguished service award from the american institute of city planning in 1960 , an outstanding achievement award from the colorado nurserymen 's association in 1961 , a distinguished service award from americans by choice in 1966 .
s r deboer park , located in denver 's university neighborhood , is named in his honor .
the nevada chapter of the american planning association has named its annual awards program , the deboer awards for excellence in planning , after him .
