Architect's legacy pits preservationists against property owners

Grandkids oppose designating land as historic district

Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 3, 2007 at midnight

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Last April, Elizabeth Potts and her two brothers signed a $1.9 million contract with a developer who wanted to buy the land they inherited from their grandfather.

The descendants of the late S.R. DeBoer, a renowned landscape architect who helped design several parks in Denver, expected the deal to close in July.

But without their knowledge, a group of neighboring property owners applied to designate the property as historic, "championing its legacy against the threat of untrammeled development."

Soon after, the deal fell through, and DeBoer's three grandchildren were thrust into the middle of an ongoing debate in Denver that pits preservationists against property owners.

"I don't know that I've experienced anything worse," Potts said Friday. "It's been kind of an all-out attack on our family."

The nightmare may finally be over.

Denver City Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie said the applicants have agreed to a limited designation, which Potts and her brothers proposed as a compromise.

"What we don't know yet is how the dozens of people who have endorsed (the original proposed) designation will react," she said.

The compromise would designate the so-called Tudor, a red brick building with a tower at 515 E. Iliff Ave., which DeBoer used as an office, as part of a historic district.

But it excludes two adjacent lots, which are also owned by Potts and her brothers.

"There are people all over Denver and a lot of the neighbors of the site who have weighed in in favor of the designation, so I don't know how they'll react to this because for the most part, it does not preserve the grounds," MacKenzie said.

"DeBoer was a landscape architect, so in some ways, some people argue that that's the most important part of his legacy," she said.

The City Council will consider the proposal on first reading on Monday. A public hearing is scheduled for March 13.

Potts' husband, David Potts, said his family "vehemently" opposes any historic designation. But he said they offered the compromise to get on with their lives.

"We feel that our rights as human beings and property owners are being trampled all over by these people," he said.

David Potts said his family has spent about $100,000 fighting the so-called hostile designation.

Leigh LaFon, one of the applicants and adjoining property owner, said she and her neighbors are trying to protect DeBoer's legacy.

"We always felt that not only was that what DeBoer would want us to do - I'm sure he would be rolling over in his grave - but we always felt that it was a moral and ethical obligation to leave what we were given," she said.

But David Potts said DeBoer would be "outraged and appalled" about what his family is going through.

"S.R. DeBoer was our grandfather," he said. "We knew him. We worked with him. We lived with him. We cared for him when he needed it. Their attempt to portray themselves as the proper stewards of his legacy and his memory is absolute nonsense."

Whom do you believe?

A plan to historically designate property once owned by an influential landscape architect in Denver has generated conflicting information.

• Opponents present their argument at historicallandmark

abuse.blogspot.com

• Supporters give their version at deboeroasis.com

S.R. DeBoer left his mark on city

• Suffering from a case of tuberculosis that he was not expected to survive, S.R. DeBoer left his native Holland and moved to Denver in 1908.

• From 1910 to 1958 he worked for the city of Denver, where he was responsible for some of the city's most important and beautiful public spaces including City Park, the Denver Botanical Gardens, Washington Park and the landscaping of Civic Center.

• Some of his more subtle handiwork includes the tree-lined parkways of Speer Boulevard, Monaco Parkway and East 17th Avenue.

• DeBoer served as a consultant to numerous cities along the Front Range, throughout the U.S. and in Europe. His comprehensive plan for Grand Junction in the 1920s was considered the first of its kind.

• He died in 1974 at the age of 90.

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099

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