Buena Park, CA - The historic Buena Park Civic Center has been replaced by a new structure. 07-03

Buena Park Civic Center
Buena Park, CA
Photo courtesy Chris Nichols

There was more to see along Beach Boulevard than the attractions drawing crowds down toward Knott’s Berry Farm. The Buena Park Civic Center offered a different sort of stop, with a collection of modern buildings serving a city that was still getting acquainted with being a city.

Buena Park incorporated in 1953, and the civic center followed a few years later. Designed by Smith and Williams and dating to about 1958, the complex gave municipal business a decidedly Southern California setting. No grand stone staircase or oversized courthouse dome needed here.

The beginning of the end?
Buena Park, CA
Photo courtesy Chris Nichols

Instead, the architects arranged the center as a campus, with buildings and outdoor spaces working together. The approach brought a little informality to city government. Visitors could move between offices without spending the entire trip inside one large municipal block.

Take a look at the original buildings and there’s a familiar optimism about the place. Communities across Orange County were growing, and modern architecture helped announce that things were moving along. Schools, banks, libraries, and city halls all had a chance to put a new face on the neighborhood.

The Buena Park Civic Center, circa 1957, is now fully endangered, due to the rise of a stucco replacement structure next door. Below are more photos of this civic center treasure in its present state.

Entranceway
Buena Park, CA
Photo courtesy Chris Nichols

Of course, most people probably came here to attend a meeting or take care of some paperwork. The architecture was simply part of the visit. For someone passing through with a camera, though, the civic center offered a worthwhile look at another side of Buena Park.

Buildings like these didn’t always receive the attention given to the roadside entertainment farther south. Yet they were just as much a part of the city taking shape around the automobile. This photograph captures the public-service side of that era, before another round of construction changed the view.

UPDATE: The original Smith and Williams civic center was demolished. City services continue in newer facilities, but the campus shown here has joined the list of lost Orange County modern landmarks. Fortunately, someone stopped for a photograph when a trip to City Hall still came with this particular view. 10-26

Google Street View Image

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