Buena Park is a city located in northwestern Orange County in the state of California, situated approximately 12 miles to the northwest of the downtown of the county seat of Santa Ana. The population of Buena Park was 80,530 as of the census in 2010, with the city having tagged itself as being the ‘Center of the Southland’ and playing host to a number of different tourist attractions, including Knott’s Berry Farm.
Knott’s Berry Farm theme park, together with its sibling water park Knott’s Soak City, is situated in the E-Zone district, which is located in Beach Boulevard along with a number of other famous tourist destinations such as a Medieval Times dinner show and the Pirate’s Dinner Adventure Show. Over the years the E-Zone was home to a number of other attractions, such as the Movieland Wax Museum, which was one of the largest venues of its type prior to its closure seven years ago back in 2005, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum and Knott Avenue’s Japanese and Deer Park.
Located in the city’s northeast is the Los Coyotes Country Club, which features a championship 27-hole course originally designed in 1957 by Billy Bell. It was redesigned in 1998 by Ted Robinson. The Country Club has previously hosted the golf tournament known as the Los Coyotes LPGA Classic.
Also in the area, nestled below the West Coyote Hills, is the Ralph B Clark Regional Park, formerly referred to as the Los Coyotes Regional Park, which is 105 acres and one of the prominent parks in the whole of Orange County. The park opened just over 30 years ago, back in 1980, and plays host to nature trails, an amphitheatre and a stocked fishing pond. There is also a small museum known as the Interpretive Center, which features local geology and ice age exhibits.
The City of Buena Park comes with its own local history park, which is situated on Beach Boulevard south of Interstate 5. These grounds feature a number of historic buildings that have been preserved by the city, including the Bacon House (one of the area’s oldest surviving structures), the Tice House, the Stage Stop Hotel (home to the current offices of the Chamber of Commerce following its last relocation) and the Whitaker-Jaynes House (the city’s local history museum). In the front of the Whitaker-Jaynes House is a multi-faced street clock, which is 75 years old and is known as the Dreger Clock. It is best known for the time that it spent at Knott’s Berry Farm prior to its move.
The city has a complete area of 10.6 square miles, according to the US Census Bureau. 10.5 square miles is land, with the other 0.03 square miles being water. Those who live in Buena Park are proud of the fact that the city is generally considered to be the center of the southland.
Jon Huser
