The Buffalo Ranch has a rich and storied history. In 1954, Myford Irvine granted a 115-acre lease to Gene Clark to be used as a sightseeing attraction called the Newport Harbor Buffalo Ranch. The Buffalo Ranch provided a glimpse of the colorful days of the Old West with buildings, animals, cowboys, chuck wagons, and Native Americans. Clark imported more than 100 American bison (commonly called buffalo). Parents would drive their children for miles and pay $1 to view the bison from their cars as they roamed "wild" on the ranch. They also enjoyed feasting on buffalo burgers that sold at the bargain price of just 25 cents each.

We hope you enjoy this photo tour of the historic Buffalo Ranch.

In the 1950's, Chief Cuthle Geronimo III, the great grandson of the legendary Apache chieftain Geronimo, tended the bison herd while several Native American families from Kansas relocated to the Buffalo Ranch to entertain visitors with tribal dances.

Also, the Buffalo Ranch location made its Hollywood screen debut in 1930, when it served as one of the locations for the classic film "All Quiet on the Western Front"; and in the 1950's it was featured in several episodes of television's serial about a boy and his dog, "Rin Tin Tin."

The Buffalo Ranch proved to be great fun for families. Children could take stagecoach and tractor rides around the ranch, and a scale-model steam engine train on a 3,000-foot track took children on a ride through the ranch, which was filled with bison and their calves. Meanwhile, parents shopped for souvenirs at Porter's western clothing and tack store.

In the 1960's and 70s, the Buffalo Ranch's red clapboard barn and surrounding buildings served as corporate offices and a tranquil getaway for the world renowned architect William Pereira, a self-proclaimed "barn freak" who renamed the ranch "Urbanus Square."

Pereira needed more office space for his burgeoning staff so he decided to expand the facility by importing entire barns from the Midwest. In this manner he created a conference room complete with a wood-burning fireplace, a maintenance shop, a print shop and an employee cafeteria. Because the ranch location was so remote, he also created an apartment in which to stay on occasion rather than commute back and forth to his home in the Los Angeles area. The complex was the favorite of all Pereira's worldwide offices.

From his office atop the "silo," which was a high point in the area, Pereira had a view of the surrounding landscape, which assisted him in developing the land and architectural plans for the University of California, Irvine campus and the southern section of the Irvine Ranch to the northeast.

Pereira, who became known as the father of the largest master-planned community in North America, counted the design for the development of the Irvine Ranch as one of the most challenging projects of his career.

From his offices at the Buffalo Ranch, Pereira also conducted the architectural planning for the University of San Diego, Trans America Tower in San Francisco, Los Angeles Museum of Art, Pepperdine University in Malibu, the Newport Center in Newport Beach and numerous other internationally recognized land plans, buildings and structures around the world.

As a teenager growing up in Orange County, Bill Lange, LFC's CEO, used to ride his bicycle to Newport Beach from Anaheim to surf, sail and participate in the beach scene. The main route to Newport Beach through the bean and beet fields south of the city of Santa Ana was the newly named MacArthur Boulevard. Located aside MacArthur Boulevard, at the top of the crest of the hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, was the Buffalo Ranch, which was the fun place to stop for a drink of water. This was the genesis of Bill's relationship with the Buffalo Ranch. In the 1970's, Bill moved to a new home in Newport Beach that was located within a mile of the Buffalo Ranch. Each day he would jog from his home to and around the Buffalo Ranch property. One day he met Bill Pereira as he arrived at his offices, which was the beginning of a professional and personal relationship between the two men.

In the mid 1980's, Lange, by then the CEO of the LFC Group of Companies, purchased the Buffalo Ranch from Pereira and LFC adopted it as its corporate headquarters, renaming the site "Lange Financial Plaza." Although LFC conducted extensive interior renovations to the buildings, the exterior rustic barn structure remained generally the same as Lange had promised Pereira it would.

LFC employees played volleyball on the back lawn, drove golf balls into the adjacent canyon, played horseshoes and on Thursdays enjoyed western style barbeque including Bill's Beans. Everyone appreciated the Buffalo Ranch's laid- back setting, which was located in the middle of rapidly developing Newport Beach.

In 1986, Lange, reintroduced a herd of American bison to the Buffalo Ranch after an almost 30-year absence. The undeveloped ranch provided the perfect setting for the bison to roam amid its pastoral surroundings. The initial herd included Scotty, the 2000-pound male, along with Wendy and Becky. It eventually increased in size with the natural addition of Rainbow, Happy, Lucky and Billy. The Buffalo Ranch soon became a standard fixture on the elementary school field-trip circuit. After all, not every city has its own herd of American bison! (Photo: Bill with daughters Christy and Casey)

The bison provided fun and entertainment for both employees and clients, particularly on the day that the beloved bison Wendy escaped, running wild in the parking lot adjacent to busy MacArthur Boulevard. Fortunately, no one was injured, including Wendy, thanks to LFC's CEO (thereafter known as "Buffalo Bill"), who saved the day by heroically staring down Wendy in the parking lot and herding her back into the corral.

An amazing variety of wildlife lived on and around the Buffalo Ranch. It was not uncommon to see deer, raccoons, geese, opossums, hawks, bobcats, ducks, rabbits and various kinds of birds and snakes... all from our conference room. One day during a meeting it became obvious that our clients were being distracted by something that was taking place outside on the lawn.

For many years a very large, semi-feral cat named Blackie lived under the barn buildings. Although LFC staff left food out for Blackie, he had no problem "living off the land." Blackie was lying down on the lawn and about one foot away from his face was a coiled rattlesnake. Blackie would wave his paw or move his head and the snake would strike. Needless to say, the meeting stopped as everyone watched the mesmerizing show. The rattlesnake seemed to be just missing Blackie's nose and face with each successive strike. Bets were taken, with the clients laying their money on the snake and LFC staff saying there was no way that Blackie was going to be taken down. Finally after about five minutes, Blackie became bored with the game, reached over and bit the snake's head off. Then as everyone watched in silent amazement, Blackie ate every last bit of the snake.

Needless to say, we didn't have any rat or mice problems at the Buffalo Ranch.

Each Fall LFC would invite its friends and clients from across the country and around the world to its annual "Buffalo Ranch Barbecue." This one-day event became famous for guests showing up in their best cowboy and cowgirl outfits to share a day of great country western music, good steaks and Bill's Beans.

In the mid 1990's when the Irvine Company announced plans to develop the adjacent property into condominiums and apartments, an outspoken contingent of Orange County residents jumped to the bison herd's defense, starting a grassroots organization called "Friends of the Buffalo Ranch." Alas, the development ultimately received approval from the planning commission.

In order to accommodate development in the adjacent area, Ford Road, now called Bonita Canyon Drive, was realigned through the main Buffalo Ranch buildings, which marked the beginning of the end of the historic Buffalo Ranch.

In the winter of 1993, LFC hosted a "Last Roundup" weekend of family fun. Everyone from the local community and around the world was invited to the festivities, which included pony rides, cowboy and cowgirl games for the kids and barbeque for all including one last batch of Bill's Beans. The two-day event was attended by over 3,000 "Friends of the Buffalo Ranch."

The bison herd was donated by LFC to the Discovery Museum of Orange County and auctioned...naturally. Becky was donated to the Orange County Fairgrounds and for many years before her death was visited by Buffalo Bill and his family.

William Periera's silo office was declared an historic structure by the Orange County Historical Society and donated by LFC and relocated to the Orange County Fairgrounds.

As a fitting tribute to the Buffalo Ranch and its unique and colorful history, a 7-foot-high bronze statue of an American bison was installed at the approximate location of Periera's silo along with a plaque which briefly explains the history of the Buffalo Ranch. The bison statue is located at northeast corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Bonita Canyon Drive and is a point of curiosity for passersby who don't know the location's unique and colorful history.

Today, the LFC Group of Companies is headquartered overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, about two miles south of the Buffalo Ranch location.