5 places in Orange County that no longer exist
Alligators across from Knott's, a punk club the police kept raiding, and a hillside amphitheatre that is now houses.
Lindsey Marino
Orange County native, and a licensed California real estate agent. What I do
CA DRE 02055819
August 11, 2026 · Orange County
Orange County rebuilds itself faster than most places, which is a polite way of saying it knocks things down.
These five all existed within living memory. Two of them shared the same patch of land. One was run by a real estate agent who was given the building as a commission payment, which is either a great story or a warning, depending on how you look at it.
05
California Alligator Farm
Buena Park
Two acres of alligators directly across the street from Knott's Berry Farm, from 1953 until 1984.
It started in Lincoln Heights in 1907 and moved to Buena Park in 1953, right into what was becoming the county's theme park corridor. At its peak it held around a thousand alligators along with a hundred-odd other reptile species, with shows daily through summer. Disney borrowed twelve of the alligators for The Happiest Millionaire in 1967.
Closed in 1984 after annual attendance fell below 50,000. The animals were relocated to a private estate in Florida.
04
Bullwinkle's Family Fun N' Food
Fountain Valley and Irvine
Mini golf, go karts, batting cages and an animatronic show, on the corner of Magnolia and Warner.
The Fountain Valley site went through more names than most people remember: it started as Huish Family Fun Center, became Bullwinkle's, then Boomers, then BOOM. The Huish family ran it for years and by every account kept it immaculate, with flower beds and ponds that later owners let go.
The Fountain Valley location closed during the pandemic and the building was demolished. Asbestos in the structure meant it came down rather than being reused.
03
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
Multiple Orange County locations
The siren, the stretcher, and a trough of ice cream carried through the dining room while everyone stared.
Farrell's started in 1963 and at its height had around sixty locations. If you grew up here you had a birthday there, and you probably still have the ribbon. It closed, came back in 2008 under new ownership, and opened seven California locations including Brea and Buena Park. It appeared on CNBC's The Profit in 2016 in a last attempt to save the brand.
Buena Park closed in December 2018. The last location anywhere, in Brea, shut in June 2019.
02
The Cuckoo's Nest
1714 Placentia Avenue, Costa Mesa
A five year run that produced most of the Orange County punk scene, and a documentary about how badly it ended.
Jerry Roach opened it in 1976 and named it after the year's biggest film so people would remember it. It booked conventional rock for almost two years, then in February 1978 started giving punk bands a chance, because nowhere else in Southern California would. That decision made it the centre of the scene and also made it a target.
Open 1976 to 1981. Roach was a real estate agent who received the property as a commission payment from a client, which is a genuinely strange origin for a punk club.
01
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine
Sixteen thousand seats on a hillside, the largest amphitheatre the county ever had, gone in 2016 for housing.
It opened in August 1981 with about 10,400 reserved seats and 5,600 on the lawn, built into a natural slope so the sightlines worked from anywhere. It spent 2000 to 2014 as Verizon Wireless Amphitheater before the original name came back for its final two years.
Closed October 30, 2016 and demolished before the year was out, after the Irvine Company chose not to renew the lease. Here is the part people forget: the site was originally part of Lion Country Safari, which closed in 1984. The same piece of land has now lost two landmarks.
Lindsey Marino
Orange County native, and a licensed California real estate agent. What I do
CA DRE 02055819