Alfred Anton Boeke (November 20, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and developer. Boeke created and developed

Sea Ranch, California Sea Ranch (also known as The Sea Ranch) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States that was developed as a planned community beginning in the 1960s. It is known for its distinct ...

, a 10-mile-long planned coastal community of 1,700 homes in

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

. Boeke advocated integration of the homes with the surrounding

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

environmental preservation Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologi ...

and low density development while creating Sea Ranch and his other planned communities. Boeke recruited some of the best-known 20th-century American architects to create Sea Ranch's wooden homes, which became well known in design and development circles.

Biography

Boeke was born to Alfred and Adah Harris Boeke in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, on November 20, 1922. His family relocated to

Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...

, where Boeke was raised. Boeke earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1948. He worked for

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

, an influential,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based modernist architect during his early career. Boeke was hired by Castle & Cooke, real estate company owned by the

Dole Food Company Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company and Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish- American agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables ...

, in 1959. Under Castle & Cooke, Boeke served as the development director of

Mililani, Hawai'i Mililani () is a city located near the center of the island of Oahu in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi, United States. It consists of two census-designated places, Mililani Town, with a population of 28,121 at the 2020 census, and Mililani Mauka, wi ...

, planned community of approximately 28,000 residents on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. Boeke first saw the land that would become

, in 1962 while on a scouting flight with a real estate specialist in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

. He was Vice President of Planning and Development at the time for Oceanic Properties, a division of Castle & Cooke, at the time. Boeke was reportedly impressed with the landscape and Gualala River which runs through the area. He had the pilot of the twin-engine

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

make two to three passes over the ranch before proclaiming, "I don't want to look at anything else." He envisioned a new community on the site based on the ideas of the

new towns movement While purpose-built towns and cities have many precedents in antiquity - the 195 BC iteration of Chang'an providing a case in point - the New Towns ''movement'' refers to an ideologically-driven social campaign. The best-known and possibly most inf ...

, which advocated the needs of residents over corporate profits and dense development which could lead to congestion. Boeke persuaded Oceanic Properties to purchase Del Mar Ranch, the 5,200-acre coastal

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

where the community of Sea Ranch now stands. The company purchased the land for $2.3 million, which is less than $500 per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. Boeke envisioned the new town, called Sea Ranch as an affordable alternative to high density development for middle and upper-middle class homeowners.

Sea Ranch

He hired landscape architect

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer, and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist ...

to design the master plan for Sea Ranch. Boeke created a committee which reviewed home plans, which restricted homes to two stories with natural colors and mandated underground power lines to preserve the area's natural heritage. Boeke commissioned extensive

environmental impact Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...

studies, which led to the reseeding of former sheep grazing areas, the removal of debris and logs left by logging, and the replanting of native trees. American architects who were hired as

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

s and designers included Joseph Esherick, Donlyn Lyndon, Charles Willard Moore, Richard Whitaker and William Turnbull. The

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

awarded a 10-unit Sea Ranch condo building its "award of enduring excellence" in 1991. The Institute said that Sea Ranch "formed an alliance of architecture and nature that has inspired and captivated a generation of architects" at the time.

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

style critic Alice Gregory observed "With its gentle footprint on the California coast, simple wood houses and almost dictatorial aesthetic strictures, it feels as modern today as it did 50 years ago."

Death

Al Boeke died at his home in

, on November 8, 2011, at the age of 88. He was survived by his current wife, Pamela Clarke Boeke; two sons from his previous marriage, Brandt and Alan; his brother and sister; and several grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boeke, Al 1922 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American architects Architects from California American residential architects American real estate and property developers USC School of Architecture alumni People from Sea Ranch, California People from Altadena, California Real estate and property developers from California