Garden Grove
I’m a HUGE strawberry fan. So, you can imagine when I discovered the annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, I was in virtual Heaven! While the gardens and the groves have somewhat faded into history, Garden Grove has emerged as a vibrant city in Orange County.
The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. 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.
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 Seventies and Eighties 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. Well-known Garden Grove residents include actor Steve Martin, adventurer Steve Fossett, baseball stars Lenny Dykstra and Alan Trammell and Philadelphia Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos. Garden Grove also lends its name to a song by the famous Southern California band Sublime, on their eponymous album.
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 include 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 18.0 square miles 0.10% of which is water. Read more
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Garden Grove had a population of 170,883. The racial makeup of Garden Grove was 68,149 White, 2,155 African American, 983 Native American, 63,451 Asian, 1,110 Pacific Islander, 28,916 from other races, and 6,119 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63,079 persons.
Breaking out the Hispanic and Latino population, the racial and ethnic composition of the population was 22.6% non-Hispanic White, 1.0% non-Hispanic Black, 0.2% Hispanic Black, 0.6% Native American, 27.7% Vietnamese, 9.4% other Asian and with those who reported both being Asian and another race 38.6% Asian, 0.4% Samoan, 0.3% other Pacific Islander, 16.9% some other race, 3.6% two or more races and 36.9% Hispanic or Latino.
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. There were 46,703 housing units at an average density of 2,591.1 per square mile. 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.
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.
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.
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.
- Bradley Nowell - Lead singer, Sublime, also wrote the song "Garden Grove" about the town.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Bob Stevens – Former Major League baseball player for the Detroit Tigers, and graduated from Bolsa Grande High School
- Ed Templeton – Professional Skateboarder and artist.
- Alan Trammell – Former player and manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball
- Matt Treanor – Texas Rangers catcher
- Randy Vataha – Former football star at Stanford; Jim Plunkett's favorite receiver
- Nam Phan – a mixed martial artist
- Denise Brown - sister of Nicole Brown Simpson
- Nicole Brown Simpson - Former Wife of Heisman Trophy Winner/Ex-NFL Superstar/Actor/Felon OJ Simpson
- Steve Fossett - Aviator and Adventurer
- Michael A. Monsoor - Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient
- Tibor Rubin - Medal of Honor recipient
- Scott Greenall - Musicin, Recording Engineer / Producer
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