Garden Grove, California

Garden Grove, California
—  City  —
City of Garden Grove
Flag Seal Coat of arms
Coordinates: 33°46′44″N 117°57′37″W
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	Orange
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• City Council	Mayor Bruce Broadwater Steve Jones Dina Nguyen Kris Beard Chris Phan
• City Manager	Matthew J. Fertal
• City Clerk	Kathleen Bailor
Area
• Total	17.959 sq mi (46.513 km2)
• Land	17.941 sq mi (46.467 km2)
• Water	0.018 sq mi (0.046 km2)  0.10%
Elevation	89 ft (27 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	170,883
• Rank	5th in Orange County 25th in California 137th in the United States
• Density	Bad rounding here9,500/sq mi (Bad rounding here3,700/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	92840-92846
Area code(s)	714
FIPS code	06-29000
GNIS feature ID	1660662
Website	www.Ci.Garden-Grove.CA.US

Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove

Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 U.S. Census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east-west direction. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral, from which religious broadcasts are made. Garden Grove has the second-largest Vietnamese American population (47,331 (2010)) and second highest concentration (27.7%) of any city in the nation.

The city has a distinct community within it, West Garden Grove, which is located in the westernmost portion of the city. It is connected to the rest of Garden Grove by a narrow strip of land that runs along Garden Grove Boulevard.

History

Garden Grove was founded by Alonzo Cook in 1874. A school district and Methodist church were organized that year. It remained a small rural crossroads until the arrival of the railroad in 1905. The rail connection helped the town prosper with crops of orange, walnuts, chili peppers and later strawberries. In 1933, much of the town's central business district was destroyed by the Long Beach earthquake, and one person was killed. The post-World War II boom led to rapid development, and Garden Grove was incorporated as a city in 1956 with about 44,000 residents.

By 1960, population had grown to 85,000; by 1970 it was 120,000. In the late 1970s and 1980s a significant Asian population (primarily Vietnamese and Korean) began to locate in the area. In recent years, Harbor Boulevard has become a booming entertainment and tourism area, served by nine high-rise hotels.

Strawberry Festival

An annual event held over Memorial Day weekend, the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival is one of the largest community festivals in the western United States, attracting an estimated 250,000 visitors. It began in 1958 and celebrates the city's agricultural past, which includes cultivating crops such as chili peppers, oranges, walnuts and strawberries. One strawberry field remains within city limits, at Euclid Street and Hazard Avenue. Part of the festivities include the cutting of the world's largest strawberry shortcake, carnival rides and vendors and a celebrity-filled parade. Numerous Garden Grove organizations, including the Miss Garden Grove Scholarship Program, are part of the Memorial Day weekend festivities every year.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.5 km² (18.0 sq mi) 0.10% of which is water.

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Garden Grove had a population of 170,883. The population density was 9,515.3 people per square mile (3,673.9/km²). The racial makeup of Garden Grove was 68,149 (39.9%) White, 2,155 (1.3%) African American, 983 (0.6%) Native American, 63,451 (37.1%) Asian, 1,110 (0.6%) Pacific Islander, 28,916 (16.9%) from other races, and 6,119 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63,079 persons (36.9%). Vietnamese Americans numbered 47,331 of the population. At 27.7% this was the highest concentration of any city in the U.S. except for neighboring Westminster.

The Census reported that 168,942 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 1,234 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 707 (0.4%) were institutionalized.

There were 46,037 households, out of which 21,361 (46.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 26,659 (57.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,866 (14.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,588 (7.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,025 (4.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 269 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,491 households (14.1%) were made up of individuals and 2,842 (6.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.67. There were 37,113 families (80.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.94.

The population was spread out with 43,763 people (25.6%) under the age of 18, 17,383 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 49,105 people (28.7%) aged 25 to 44, 42,106 people (24.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 18,526 people (10.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.6 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

There were 47,755 housing units at an average density of 2,659.1 per square mile (1,026.7/km²), of which 26,240 (57.0%) were owner-occupied, and 19,797 (43.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 96,308 people (56.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 72,634 people (42.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 165,196 people, 45,791 households, and 36,449 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,165.2 inhabitants per square mile (3,539.5/km²). There were 46,703 housing units at an average density of 2,591.1 per square mile (1,000.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.88% White, 30.92% Asian, 1.31% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.65% Pacific Islander, 15.35% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races. 32.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 45,791 households out of which 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56 and the average family size was 3.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,754, and the median income for a family was $49,697. Males had a median income of $33,295 versus $26,709 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,209. About 10.5% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $206.0 million in Revenues, $193.0 million in expenditures, $1,098.9 million in total assets, $251.5 million in total liabilities, and $196.3 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

City department	Director
City Manager	Matthew J. Fertal
City Attorney	Tom Nixon
Fire Chief	David Bertka
Community Development Director	Susan Emery
Information Technology Director	Charles Kalil
Community Services Director	Kim Huy
Human Resources Director	John Clark
Economic Development Directory	Chet Yoshizaki
Police Chief	Kevin Raney
Finance Director	Kingsley Okereke
Public Works Director	Bill Murray

Politics

Of the 65,208 registered voters in Garden Grove; 39.8% are Republicans and 38.7% are Democrats. The remaining 21.5% either declined to state political affiliation or are registered with one of the many smaller political parties.

The headquarters of the Government of Free Vietnam, a self-styled anti-Communist group, is in Garden Grove.

Emergency services

Fire protection in Garden Grove is provided by the Garden Grove Fire Department with ambulance transport by Care Ambulance Service. The Garden Grove Police Department provides law enforcement with mutual aid assistance offered at times by the Anaheim Police Department's helicopter, and the Orange County Sheriff's Department Air Unit.

State and federal

In the state legislature Garden Grove is located in the 34th and 35th Senate Districts, represented by Democrat Lou Correa (Santa Ana) and Republican Tom Harman (Huntington Beach) respectively, and in the 67th, 68th, and 69th Assembly District, represented by Republicans Jim Silva and Van Tran and Democrat Jose Solorio respectively. Federally, Garden Grove is located in California's 40th, 46th, and 47th congressional districts, which have Cook PVIs of R +8, R +6, and D +4 respectively and are represented by Republicans Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher, and Democrat Loretta Sanchez respectively.

Economy

According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Prime Healthcare Services	516
2	Air Industries Corp.	465
3	Driessen Aircraft Interior Systems	370
4	Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics	363
5	OfficeMax	360
6	Hyatt Regency Orange County	350
7	GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems	331
8	NBTY	298
9	Crystal Cathedral Ministries	290
10	C & D Zodiac	286

Arts and culture

Garden Grove is home to three stage theaters, the Garden Grove Playhouse, Gem Theater and the Festival Amphitheater. The Amphitheater hosts Shakespeare Orange County, which presents an annual Shakespeare Festival each summer. All venues are owned by the City of Garden Grove, but operated by outside entities. The Garden Grove Playhouse is operated by a non-profit group of the same name. The Gem Theater is currently operated by Damien Lorton and Nicole Cassesso of 'One More Productions'. The Festival Amphitheater is managed by Thomas Bradac, the producing artistic director of Shakespeare Orange County.

Popular culture

The song "Garden Grove", by the band Sublime, was named after the city from their self-titled 1996 album.

The weekly broadcast of The Hour of Power has been televised from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove since 1970.

The Mountain Goats have referenced the city in several songs including Home Again Garden Grove.

Notable natives and residents

Entertainment

• Wally George - Former talk-show host
• Scott Klopfenstein - Back-up singer, keyboardist, trumpeter and guitarist for the ska-punk band Reel Big Fish.
• Dexter Holland - Lead singer, The Offspring, also wrote the song "The Kids Aren't Alright" about the city.
• Steve Martin - Actor, comedian and writer
• Jennette McCurdy - Country music artist and actress, iCarly.
• Patrick LaBrecque - Former child/teen actor; not the famed, former hockey player.
• Monique Powell - Lead singer, Save Ferris
• Eunice Pringle - Actress notorious for accusing movie mogul Alexander Pantages in 1929 of rape.
• Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman - Lead guitarist, The Offspring
• Atreyu - A Metalcore band
• Kieu Chinh - Actress
• Poreotics - Dance Crew

Sports

• Bert Blyleven – Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Hall of Famer, color commentator and graduate of Santiago High School
• Bobby Crosby - MLB Rookie of the Year (2004), attended Pacifica High School
• Lenny Dykstra – Former Major League baseball player with Mets, Phillies; graduate of Garden Grove High School
• Amanda Freed - Olympic gold medal winner in softball (2004), attended Pacifica High School, Bell Intermediate and Patton Elementary
• Luis Gil - Soccer player for Real Salt Lake
• Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison – Legendary surfer and surfing innovator
• Mike Iupati – American football player
• Norm Johnson – Former NFL kicker
• Darryl Kile – Former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Leah O'Brien – Softball infielder, Olympics gold 96
• Craig Paquette – Former Major League Baseball third baseman, graduate of Rancho Alamitos High School
• Troy Polamalu – NFL Football player, currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Ed Templeton – Professional Skateboarder and artist.
• Alan Trammell – Former player and manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball
• Matt Treanor – Los Angeles Dodgers catcher
• Randy Vataha – Former football star at Stanford; Jim Plunkett's favorite receiver
• Gary Hall – Olympic swimmer silver medalist
• Nam Phan – a mixed martial artist

Politics

• Jim Silva - current State Assemblyman, former Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, former Mayor of Huntington Beach
• Bill Thomas - Retired U.S. Congressman and former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (and alumnus of Garden Grove High School)
• Robert K. Dornan- Former U.S. Congressman
• Janet Nguyen - Orange County supervisor
• Loretta Sanchez - U.S. Congresswoman
• Curt Pringle - Former State Assemblyman, Speaker of the Assembly and former Mayor of Anaheim

Others

• Nicole Brown Simpson - Former Wife of Heisman Trophy Winner/Ex-NFL Superstar/Actor OJ Simpson
• Steve Fossett - Aviator and Adventurer
• Michael A. Monsoor - Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient
• Tibor Rubin - Medal of Honor recipient
• Scott Greenall - Musician, Recording Engineer / Producer
• Adam Yahiye Gadahn - American Al Q'aeda, (born Adam Pearlman) English speaking spokesperson for Bin Laden and Al Q'aeda (Arabic for "The Base")

See also

• West Garden Grove, Garden Grove, California
• Garden Grove Unified School District

External links

• City of Garden Grove official website
• The Garden Grove Journal
• International West - The City's 500-acre (2.0 km²) resort and tourist district
• City of Garden Grove Libraries