O.C. Q&A: Irvine Park Edition

Circa 1920 photo of the 1914 boathouse at Irvine Park. (Courtesy Don Dobmeier)

Q:  I found an old photo labeled “Orange County Park,” but I can’t find it on a map. What gives? 

A:  They didn’t mislay a whole park. It just got a name change. In 1929, it was renamed Irvine Park, in honor of James Irvine, II, who donated the land to create this first county park in 1897. From the 1860s, when people first started picnicking there, until it became a park, this spot simply was known as “the Picnic Grounds.”  

Q:  What are oldest living things in Orange County?

A:  According to the late great Orange County Historian Jim Sleeper, the "gnarled old live oak trees in Irvine Park" are the county's oldest residents. (And no, they are not regulars at Polly's Pies.) At Sleeper's request, the State Department of Forestry took core samples, revealing some of the larger oaks to be almost 800 years old. When they first sprouted, Genghis Kahn was terrorizing Central Asia, and Gothic architecture was becoming popular in Europe.

Q:  Why are there peacocks at Irvine Park?

A: In 1910, Albert A. Leake became superintendent of the new Marcy Ranch, headquartered near Newport Avenue and Marcy Drive, north of Tustin. He not only maintained the citrus and avocado trees, cattle, and buildings, but also a park that he kept stocked with swans and peafowl (peacocks and peahens). The descendants of the peafowl were still around in the 1960s, finding shelter in the stables at the adjacent Peacock Hill Riding Club. When the club evolved into the Peacock Hill Equestrian Center and moved to Irvine Park in 1980, owners William and Kathryn Warne brought the peacocks with them. In 1987, about 24 of the noisy birds haunted the park. Now there are well over 100. 

“They’re pretty,” said the equestrian center’s current owner, Robin Bisogno, “but there are way too many of them." She politely ignored offers of peafowl recipes, but suggested it might be possible for people to adopt some of the birds. If you want some large, loud, dumb, but beautiful birds, this may be your chance.

Q:  How long has there been an “Orange County Zoo” at Irvine Park?

A:  In 1919, J. A. Turner of the Santiago Hunt Club began raising red foxes in cages at the park for hunting purposes. The 1920, the addition of pens for deer and a lethargic alligator made it a zoo. Animals added later included monkeys, birds, and Horatio the pancake-loving bear. Enclosures were scattered around the park. 

The zoo lost steam when the park closed during WWII. In 1969, many animals were released during a flood. In the early 1970s, efforts began to consolidate the enclosures into one area, and in 1984 a new zoo facility was opened, focusing primarily on native California animals.

More Reading: For the definitive history of Irvine Park, see the hardbound edition of Jim Sleeper's book, Bears to Briquets: A History of Irvine Park, 1897-1997.