Garden Grove, California

Garden Grove is a city centrally located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of 2004, the city population was 170,000 people. California State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city from east to west. Garden Grove is home to a substantial Vietnamese American population, forming the northern edge of Orange County's Little Saigon, and also to a large Korean American population centered along Garden Grove Boulevard west of Brookhurst Street. 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 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 oranges, 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 and baseball star Lenny Dykstra. Garden Grove also lends its name to a song by the famous Southern California band Sublime, on their eponymous album.

The city has one distint community within it, West Garden Grove, which is located in the westernmost portion of the city.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government & Politics
- 3.1 Emergency services
4 Arts & Culture
5 Notable natives and residents
6 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.7 km² (18.0 mi²). 46.7 km² (18.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.11%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 165,196 people, 45,791 households, and 36,449 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,539.5/km² (9,165.2/mi²). There were 46,703 housing units at an average density of 1,000.7/km² (2,591.1/mi²). 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.

[edit] Government & Politics

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

As of January 2007, the city's mayor is William Dalton, and the city council members are Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Rosen, Dina Nguyen, Bruce Broadwater and Janet Nguyen. The City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

The headquarters of the Government of Free Vietnam (in exile) is in Garden Grove.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Arts & 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 without a regular operator, but the Garden Grove Community Foundation has applied to take over the facility. The Festival Amphitheater is managed by Thomas Bradac, the producing artistic director of Shakespeare Orange County.

[edit] Notable natives and residents

[edit] Entertainment

Steve Martin - Actor, comedian and writer
Michaela Gallo - Child actress
Wally George - former talk-show host
Dexter Holland - Lead singer, The Offspring
Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman-Lead guitarist, The Offspring
Monique Powell - Lead singer, Save Ferris
Scott Klopfenstein - Back-up singer, keyboardist, trumpeter and guitarist for the ska-punk band Reel Big Fish.
XerxesTWD - Celebrated Wildstorm expert and signature artist.
Eunice Pringle - actress notorious for accusing movie mogul Alexander Pantages in 1929 of rape.
Frank Caito - Bassist, M-Tentacles

[edit] Sports

Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison (1913-1993)- Legendary surfer and surfing innovator
Darryl Kile- Former Major League Baseball pitcher
John Matua - martial artist who fought in UFC 6
Troy Polamalu- NFL Football player, currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Leah O'Brien- Softball infielder, Olympics gold 96
Alan Trammell- Former player and manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball
Ed Templeton - Professional Skateboarder and artist.
Pat Channita - Professional Skate Boarder.