Garden Grove, California

Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located 34 miles (55 km) southeast of the city of Los Angeles in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[7] The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east–west direction. The western portion of the city is known as West Garden Grove.

Garden Grove, California
City
City of Garden Grove[1]
Clockwise: Christ Cathedral; Garden Grove High School; Chùa Huệ Quang Buddhist Temple
Flag
Seal
Motto(s): 
Absit Invidia (Latin), "The City Of Youth And Ambition"
Location of Garden Grove in Orange County, California
Vicinity of Garden Grove
Garden Grove
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°46′44″N 117°57′37″W
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyOrange
Founded1874
IncorporatedJune 18, 1956[2]
Government
 • TypeCouncil–manager
 • MayorSteven R. Jones (R)
 • Mayor Pro TemDiedre Thu-Ha Nguyen
 • City council
  • John R. O'Neill.
  • George S. Brietigam III
  • Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen
  • Patrick Phat Bui
  • Stephanie Klopfenstein
  • Kim B. Nguyen
 • City ManagerScott C. Stiles
 • Deputy City ManagerMaria Stipe
Area
[3]
 • Total17.98 sq mi (46.56 km2)
 • Land17.96 sq mi (46.51 km2)
 • Water0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)  0.10%
Elevation
[4]
89 ft (27 m)
Population
 (2020)[5]
 • Total171,949
 • Rank5th in Orange County
31st in California
 • Density9,558.08/sq mi (3,690.40/km2)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes[6]
92840–92846
Area codes657/714
FIPS code06-29000
GNIS feature IDs1660662, 2410568
Websiteggcity.org

History
Garden Grove was part of Rancho Las Bolsas. In 1872, Californio ranchero Ramón Yorba (pictured) was patented for half of the rancho, along with Juan José Murillo.
Garden Grove, c. 1950s

19th century

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 and farming community until the arrival of the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1905. The rail connection helped the town prosper with the influx of tourists, visitors and eventually settlers,[8] and it was noted for its crops of oranges, walnuts, chili peppers and later strawberries.[9]

20th century

In 1933, much of the town's central business district was destroyed by the Long Beach earthquake, and one person was killed at the high school. 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.

In 1956, Orange County Plaza (now The Promenade) was opened at Chapman and Brookhurst, and upon its expansion in 1959, it had 60 stores, including a J. C. Penney, 2 variety stores and 2 supermarkets, and billed itself as both the largest and the first regional shopping center in Orange County.[10][11][12]

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.[13][14] It began in 1958 and celebrates the city's agricultural past, which includes cultivating crops such as chili peppers, oranges, walnuts and strawberries. Part of the festivities include the cutting of the world's largest strawberry shortcake, carnival rides, food vendors, live music, and a celebrity-filled parade.[15][16] Numerous Garden Grove organizations, including the Miss Garden Grove Scholarship Program, are part of the Memorial Day weekend festivities every year. In commemoration of Garden Grove's 50th anniversary, the city painted some of its fire hydrants with a design that featured a strawberry, recognizing the festival as a big part of Garden Grove's history.[17][18]

Geography

Garden Grove has a rugged set of boundaries with many panhandles. The West Garden Grove neighborhood is west of Beach Boulevard and is largely separated from the rest of Garden Grove by the city of Stanton, with a small bridge of jurisdiction linking the two along Garden Grove Boulevard. A panhandle in the southern part of the town's borders situated between Westminster's Ward Street to the west and Santa Ana's Euclid Street to the east creates a small border with the city of Fountain Valley. Other neighboring cities include Cypress and Anaheim to the north, Orange to the east, and the cities of Seal Beach and Los Alamitos to the west.[19]

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
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
196084,238—
1970121,15543.8%
1980123,3071.8%
1990143,05016.0%
2000165,19615.5%
2010170,8833.4%
2020171,9490.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]

2010

The 2010 United States Census[21] reported that Garden Grove had a population of 170,883. The population density was 9,515.3 inhabitants per square mile (3,673.9/km2). The racial makeup of Garden Grove was 68,149 (39.9%) White, 2,155 (1.3%) Black, 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%). Non-Hispanic whites were 22.6% of the population,[22] down from 90.6% in 1970.[23] Vietnamese Americans numbered 47,331 of the population. At 27.7% this was the highest concentration of any city in the United States except for adjacent 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 7.7 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.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Garden Grove had a median household income of $59,988, with 15.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[24]

Government

Local government

Garden Grove uses a council-manager form of government. In July 2015, the city was sued by a resident who claimed that the longstanding at-large elections had affected the Latino vote and was in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. On January 26, 2016, the city council voted to settle the lawsuit, and therefore adopted that council members would be voted by district (six districts total) and no longer at-large; the mayor, however, will continue to be elected at-large.[25] The city council consists of mayor Steve Jones, Phat Bui, George S. Brietigam III, John R. O'Neill, Thu-Ha Nguyen, Stephanie Klopfenstein, and mayor pro tem Kim B. Nguyen.[26] 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.[27]

The following list of city officials is current as of August 2019.

City department Director
City Manager Scott Stiles
Deputy City Manager Maria Stipe
Community and Economic Development Lisa Kim
Community Services John Montanchez
Finance Patricia (Yuan) Song
Fire Orange County Fire Authority Division 1 Chief
Human Resources Laura J. Stover
Information Technology Anand Rao
Police Chief Tom DaRé
Public Works Bill Murray

Emergency services

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.

In August 2019, the city of Garden Grove entered into a 10-year contract with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for fire and rescue services, and merged all existing Garden Grove Fire Department personnel and equipment into the OCFA.[28]

State and federal representation

In the California State Senate, Garden Grove is in the 34th Senate District, represented by Democrat Tom Umberg.[29]

In the California State Assembly, Garden Grove is split between the 65th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva, the 69th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Tom Daly, and the 72nd Assembly District, represented by Republican Janet Nguyen.[30]

In the United States House of Representatives, Garden Grove is split between California's 46th, 47th, and 48th congressional districts,[31] which are represented by Lou Correa (D–Santa Ana), Alan Lowenthal (D–Long Beach), and Michelle Steel (R–Surfside), respectively.

Politics

According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 22, 2018, Garden Grove has 72,768 registered voters. Of those, 26,604 (36.56%) are registered Democrats, 21,449 (29.48%) are registered Republicans, and 21,941 (30.15%) have declined to state a political party/are independents.[32]

Although Democrat Kamala Harris easily won California and also won Orange County in the 2016 United States Senate election, Democrat Loretta Sanchez easily won Garden Grove by a 67%-33% margin, her widest margin of victory for any city in Orange County.[33]

Garden Grove, although traditionally Republican in presidential elections, has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in each of the last three presidential elections. Hillary Rodham Clinton carried the city by a 23-point margin in 2016. In 2020, however, Joe Biden managed to keep the city in the Democratic column by just over a point, largely because of gains Donald J. Trump made in Orange County's Vietnamese community.

Garden Grove city vote
by party in presidential elections
Year Democratic Republican Third Parties
2020[34] 49.67% 34,753 48.57% 33,989 1.76% 1,233
2016[35] 58.40% 30,244 35.61% 18,443 6.00% 3,105
2012[36] 53.54% 25,786 44.05% 21,213 2.41% 1,161
2008[37] 46.76% 23,754 51.07% 25,939 2.17% 1,103
2004[38] 37.73% 18,055 61.13% 29,251 1.14% 545
2000[39] 46.16% 20,483 50.16% 22,257 3.68% 1,631
1996[40] 42.42% 16,675 46.25% 18,179 11.32% 4,451
1992[41] 33.03% 14,706 41.68% 18,560 25.29% 11,261
1988[42] 33.56% 15,041 65.00% 29,133 1.44% 644
1984[43] 25.67% 11,656 73.13% 33,206 1.20% 546
1980[44] 25.42% 11,144 65.62% 28,772 8.96% 3,929
1976[45] 41.66% 16,549 55.80% 22,169 2.54% 1,011

Economy

According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,[46] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of employees
1 Great Wolf Lodge Southern California 700
2 Air Industries Corp. 625
3 Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center 516
4 Hyatt Regency Orange County 424
5 GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. 409
6 Safran Cabin 350
7 Costco 323
8 Full Clip 310
9 Walmart 272
10 Lutheran Social Services of Southern CA 250

Education

The Garden Grove Unified School District serves most of the city, as well as the Westminster School District, Huntington Beach Union High School District, Anaheim Elementary School District, Anaheim Union High School District and the Orange Unified School District, which serves portions in Garden Grove.

King of Kings Lutheran School is a Christian school (3K-8th grade) of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in Garden Grove.[47]

Arts and culture

Garden Grove is home to two stage theaters, the Gem Theater and the Festival Amphitheater. The Festival Amphitheater hosts Shakespeare Orange County, which presents an annual Shakespeare Festival each summer. Both venues are owned by the City of Garden Grove, but operated by outside entities. 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.

The Garden Grove Playhouse used to be an active theatre, now closed down. It was operated by a non-profit group of the same name.

The song "Garden Grove" by Sublime details taking a trip to Garden Grove.

Notable people

Entertainment
  • Justin Chon, actor
  • Wally George, talk-show host
  • Scott Klopfenstein, backup 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[48]
  • Steve Martin, actor, comedian, musician and writer; graduate of Garden Grove High School
  • Jennette McCurdy, podcaster, author and actress, iCarly and Sam & Cat
  • Monique Powell, lead singer, Save Ferris
  • Eunice Pringle, actress, notably who accused 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
  • Dave Mustaine, lead singer, Megadeth; played baseball in Garden Grove Eastside Little League, lived on Pearce Ave
  • Basil "Bill" Poledouris, musician; motion picture film score music composer
  • Vicky Nguyen, news reporter, KFYR-TV, NBC Affiliate
  • Shubhendra Shankar, musician, composer and graphic artist
  • Mick Mars, musician and guitarist for Mötley Crüe
  • David J. Peterson, creator of the Dothraki and Valyrian languages from HBO's Game of Thrones

Sports
  • Bert Blyleven, Major League Baseball pitcher, Hall of Famer, color commentator, graduate of Santiago High School
  • Ed Caruthers, Olympic silver medalist, 1968 Mexico City. Taught at Bolsa Grande High School.
  • Bobby Crosby, MLB Rookie of the Year (2004), attended Pacifica High School and La Quinta High School
  • Mary Decker, runner in National Track and Field Hall of Fame; grew up in Garden Grove
  • Lenny Dykstra, MLB player with Mets, Phillies; graduate of Garden Grove High School
  • Amanda Freed, Olympic gold medalist in softball (2004), attended Pacifica High School, Bell Intermediate and Patton Elementary
  • Luis Gil, soccer player for Real Salt Lake
  • Gary Hall Sr., Olympic swimmer, silver medalist
  • Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison, legendary surfer and surfing innovator
  • Mike Iupati, football player
  • Jeremy Jackson, mixed martial artist
  • Norm Johnson, NFL kicker
  • Darryl Kile, MLB pitcher
  • Leah O'Brien, softball infielder, Olympic gold medalist 1996
  • Craig Paquette, MLB third baseman, graduate of Rancho Alamitos High School
  • Nam Phan, mixed martial artist
  • Troy Polamalu, NFL player with the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Dennis Sigalos, motorcycle speedway rider, winner of the 1982 Speedway World Pairs Championship
  • Leo Sutherland, MLB player
  • Ed Templeton, professional skateboarder and artist
  • Alan Trammell, MLB shortstop and manager for the Detroit Tigers
  • Matt Treanor, MLB catcher
  • Randy Vataha, football player at Stanford, Jim Plunkett's favorite receiver

Politics
  • Jim Silva, former California Assemblyman, former Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, former Mayor of Seal 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.[49]
  • Janet Nguyen, Orange County supervisor
  • Curt Pringle, former State Assemblyman, Speaker of the California State Assembly and former mayor of Anaheim
  • Paul Jeffrey Watford, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Assumed office May 22, 2012, born in Garden Grove August 25, 1967

Others
  • Steve Fossett, aviator and adventurer
  • Michael A. Monsoor, Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient
  • Tibor Rubin, Medal of Honor recipient
  • Robert H. Schuller, television evangelist[50]
  • Nicole Brown Simpson, murder victim and former wife of O.J. Simpson

Sister cities
  • Anyang, South Korea[51]

See also
  • Christ Cathedral (Garden Grove, California)
  • List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations

References
  1. "City of Garden Grove". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  2. "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  3. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. "Garden Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  5. "Garden Grove (city) QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  6. "ZIP Code(tm) Lookup". United States Postal Service. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. "Welcome to Garden Grove | City of Garden Grove". Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  8. "History of Garden Grove, From Community to Town". ggcity.org. Garden Grove City. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  9. "Garden Grove | California, United States". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  10. "Merchants announce new store opening". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1956. p. 131.
  11. "Orange County Plaza Center will have two supermarkets". Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, California). February 23, 1959. p. 53.
  12. "Sixty Stores Assures Wide Buying Choice". Los Angeles Times. April 26, 1959.
  13. Bharath, Deepa (May 27, 2010). "Strawberry Festival kicks off today". The Orange County Register. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  14. "About us". Garden Grove Strawberry Festival website. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  15. Garden Grove Strawberry Festival- EVENTS Archived August 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 20, 2011
  16. "History - Strawberry Festival". Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  17. "Turning Golden". Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  18. "Showing off fire hydrants painted to note the city's 50th anniversary". March 6, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  19. "City Boundaries". Orange County GIS. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  20. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA – Garden Grove city". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  22. "Garden Grove (city), California". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  23. "Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 12, 2012.
  24. "Garden Grove (City) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  25. Vo, Thy (January 27, 2016). "Garden Grove Mayor Will Continue to be Elected on At-Large Basis". The Voice of OC. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  26. "City of Garden Grove Mayor and Council Members". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  27. "City of Garden Grove CAFR" (PDF).
  28. "City Approves Move to OCFA | City of Garden Grove". ggcity.org.
  29. "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  30. "Communities of Interest – City". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  31. "Communities of Interest – City". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  32. "CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – October 22, 2018" (PDF). ca.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  33. "SOV.xls" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  34. "Precinct results" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  35. "SOV.xls" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  36. "SOV.xls" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  37. "SOV.xls" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  38. "SOV.xls" (PDF). www.ocvote.com. 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  39. "SOV.xls" (PDF). Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  40. "Statement of vote". Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. May 31, 1968 – via Internet Archive.
  41. "Statement of vote". Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. May 31, 1968 – via Internet Archive.
  42. Statement of the Vote. Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. 1968.
  43. Statement of the Vote. Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. 1968.
  44. Statement of the Vote. Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. 1968.
  45. Statement of the Vote. Sacramento, Calif. : The Secretary. 1968.
  46. "City of Garden Grove ACFR" (PDF).
  47. "Home – King of Kings Lutheran School in Garden Grove, CA". www.kingofkingselementary.org.
  48. "The Kids Aren't Alright by The Offspring". Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  49. Barone, Michael; Ujifusa, Grant (1987). The Almanac of American Politics 1988. National Journal. p. 166.
  50. "Retail religion". The Economist. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  51. "Garden Grove to Anyang". Garden Grove Sister City Association.
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