Saco Rienk de Boer

Who was Saco Rienk de Boer?

Saco Rienk DeBoer, 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.