Buena Park, CA Through the Beholding Eye

Throughout the article, The Beholding Eye by renowned geographer Donald Meinig, he discusses the ways that we as a society should focus on the importance of landscapes and reintegrate them back into multiple facets of our cities. Some of his ideas include landscapes as history, as artifacts, as wealth, as nature, and as aesthetic. He uses a nearly poetic tone to explain the significance of landscapes in these categories and the influence they really have. Attempting to apply these ideas to some cities are more difficult than others. For instance, my home city of Buena Park is a city in Orange County, California that is pinched just between larger cities like Anaheim and Fullerton. It consists of mostly track-neighborhoods and shopping centers, but also features the amusement park attraction known as Knott’s Berry Farm. This city features nearly no natural hills, fields, or even waterways and has so much flat industrialization that land is sparce (Buena Park 2023). Meinig’s approaches of landscapes as history, as artifacts, as wealth, as nature, and as aesthetic applied to my city each have a unique story.

Buena Park didn’t always have thousands of homes and buildings occupying its space, the history of this city goes back to 1887 when James Whitaker bought nearly 700 acres of farmland. He opened a merchandise store and encouraged others to begin developing Buena Park as a city and living there. In 1920, Walter Knott who was an established berry farmer all throughout California in cities like San Bernadino, Pomona, and Norco, decided to lease 20 acres of land within Buena Park and began growing and selling his berries there. The popularity grew and eventually he created a tearoom and a market. As years flew by, the tearoom became the now famous “Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant” and themed rides and amusement experiences began construction. By 1960, all berry farming was halted within the city because of the success of the theme park (Duignan 2023).

When considering the ideas of Meinig in relation to the history of Buena Park, one can see that the landscapes that are currently visible reflect the industrialization of the area. The main source of landscape in the past was the berry farm, but the popularity of the market, and eventually the theme park, caused that farmland to stop being used. This is one of the major catalysts to the decline in landscapes within the city. Each alteration to the land, at the time, may not have seemed to have amounted to much negative consequences, considering these individuals were innovating and improving the area in ways that held more importance to them. In the words of Meinig,

This line shows that the landscape we see reflects what occurred in the past, but while we might have differing ideas of how things should have turned out, we can’t hold blame and resentment towards those who made the decisions. We have to place ourselves in the context of which the decisions were made and understand the idea that developers may not have had an understanding that they were ruining these landscapes.

To continue in a historical theme, there are also artifacts of Buena Parks landscapes. While most, if not all, of Knott’s Berry Farm has been altered and updated to fit the current themes of the amusement park, the Historical Society of Buena Park acquired a garden and six historical buildings of Buena park all dating back to its founding. One of these being the home of the founder James Whitaker. These buildings have all been preserved and completely restored to their original state, and they are now used as a museum and public space for people to enjoy. This area is one of the few within the city like this, and most residents within the city are unaware of its existence. Meinig discusses the idea that most landscapes and places on this Earth have been demolished, cut, and destroyed, so being able to go to a place within my city that I know is a natural and original is a very enlightening experience.

Another form of landscape discussed by Meinig is wealth. The commodifying and accessorizing of the land in our society is truly heartbreaking. Within Buena Park especially nearly all open areas that could be filled with more greenery have fences closing them off. Within the city limits there are 29 vacant and empty lots that are not being used by the public or anyone (Property Shark 2023). This tragic waste of open space that could be utilized to create public parks and greenbelts are left for no one to use. The raising of property value and the rise in population within California, makes having these public facilities nearly impossible to get. Within wealthier cities that pay high property taxes, citizens notice more amenities like these, but for citizens in lower income areas, there should also be these public spaces.

To continue, this issue of the lack of nature within Buena Park also correlated to a main pillar to Meinig’s points on landscapes. Meinig describes how nature should be thoroughly integrated into the surroundings of people (Meinig 2). Having nearly no access to nature and open space within the city can feel suffocating. Yes, there is excessive availability to almost any store you can think of, one would have to drive around 20 minutes to find open land and nature that hasn’t been heavily altered and manipulated by man. While Meinig discusses the importance of integration between nature and man, it is also apparent that man should not destroy and bury all of the natural landscapes of the Earth. While this form of developing might be benefiting the economy and giving people more access to goods, building on top of all the land that we have is quickly making it so that there eventually is none left.

Also, the aesthetics of the buildings affect the landscape as well. While the original farmland may not be able to recover, the buildings and structures that may be declining should still be upkept. Also, the visual themes and colors of the buildings should be appealing and vibrant to the eye and should make people intrigued to wonder what each place is. There seems to be a huge issue of “The Greying” of society. This idea is furthered by author, Adrian Chiles, who describes this phenomenon and discusses the negative impact it can have on individuals. He discusses small aspects of everyone’s lives and the fact that everything within them is losing its color. This darkening of vibrant spaces can be seen as modern to some, but ultimately, they cast a grey cloud upon the area they occupy (Chiles 2023). He even discusses the fact that grey cars make up the majority of vehicles on the road. Like Meinig said, the modern world is now our landscape, so aspects of our society like vehicles also play a major part in the make-up of our landscapes. This dullness and lack of aesthetics within Buena Park, and a lot of the developing world affects humans interpretations of the world around them.

Each of the main pillars of Donald Meinig’s essay landscapes as history, as artifacts, as wealth, as nature, and as aesthetic all play a crucial role in our perceptions of our cities. Some other cities nearby Buena Park may not face nearly any of these issues. One of the biggest battles in our current world is the abundance of gaps especially regarding socioeconomics. Promoting the idea that all cities and neighborhoods should receive the same care and thought should be prioritized within our world. Adopting Meinig’s ideology and respect for the landscapes around us could truly benefit our society.