Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County in the U.S. state of California, 34 miles (55 km) south of Los Angeles.[9] The population was 170,883 at the 2010 United States Census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east-west direction.

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 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.

By 1960, the population had grown to 85,000; by 1970 it was 120,000. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, there was a large influx of Vietnamese refugees settling in Garden Grove, especially in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s, forming a large percentage of Asian Americans in the city.
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.[10][11] 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 and vendors and a celebrity-filled parade.[12] 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.l[13][14]

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
Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1960 84,238 —
1970 121,155 43.8%
1980 123,307 1.8%
1990 143,050 16.0%
2000 165,196 15.5%
2010 170,883 3.4%
Est. 2014 175,078 [15] 2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
2010

The 2010 United States Census[17] 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%) 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%). 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. Non-Hispanic Whites were 22.6% of the population,[18] down from 90.6% in 1970.[19]

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.[20]
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.[21]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:[21]
City department Director
City Manager Matthew J. Fertal
City Attorney Tom Nixon
Fire Chief David R. Barlag
Community Development Director Susan Emery
Information Technology Director Charles Kalil
Community Services Director Kim Huy
Human Resources Director Laura Stover
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.
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 representation

In the California State Senate, Garden Grove is in the 34th Senate District, represented by Republican Janet Nguyen.[22]

In the California State Assembly, Garden Grove is split between the the 65th Assembly District, represented by Republican Young Kim, the 69th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Tom Daly, and the 72nd Assembly District, represented by Republican Travis Allen.[23]

In the United States House of Representatives, Garden Grove is split between California's 46th, 47th, and 48th congressional districts,[24] which are represented by Loretta Sanchez (D–Santa Ana), Alan Lowenthal (D–Long Beach), and Dana Rohrabacher (R–Costa Mesa) respectively.
Economy

According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[25] 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
Education

The Garden Grove Unified School District serves most of the city.

Portions are assigned to Westminster School District,[26] and Huntington Beach Union High School District.[27]
Arts and culture

Garden Grove is home to two stage theaters, the Garden Grove Playhouse, 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 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.
Notable natives and residents

Entertainment

Justin Chon - actor, was born here
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[28]
Steve Martin - actor, comedian, musician and writer
Jennette McCurdy - country music artist and actress, iCarly and Sam & Cat
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
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

Sports

Bert Blyleven – Major League Baseball pitcher, Hall of Famer, color commentator, graduate of Santiago High School
Bobby Crosby - MLB Rookie of the Year (2004), attended Pacifica High School
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
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

Steve Fossett - aviator and adventurer
Adam Yahiye Gadahn - American Al Q'aeda (born Adam Pearlman), English-speaking spokesperson for Bin Laden and Al Q'aeda (Arabic for "The Base")
Scott Greenall - musician, recording engineer and producer
Michael A. Monsoor - Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient
Tibor Rubin - Medal of Honor recipient
Robert H. Schuller — television evangelist[29]
Nicole Brown Simpson - former wife of Heisman Trophy winner, NFL superstar and actor O.J. Simpson

See also
Portal icon Greater Los Angeles portal

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

References

"City of Garden Grove". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
"California Cities by Incorporation Date" (Word). California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
"City Manager". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
"Garden Grove City Council". City of Garden Grove. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
"2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files – Places – California". United States Census Bureau.
"Garden Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
"Garden Grove (city) QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
"ZIP Code(tm) Lookup". United States Postal Service. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
http://www.ci.garden-grove.ca.us/welcome
Bharath, Deepa (May 27, 2010). "Strawberry Festival kicks off today". The Orange County Register. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
"About us". Garden Grove Strawberry Festival website. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
Garden Grove Strawberry Festival- EVENTS Retrieved 2011-04-20
"Turning Golden". Retrieved September 30, 2013.
"Showing off fire hydrants painted to note the city’s 50th anniversary". Retrieved September 30, 2013.
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
"Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
"2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Garden Grove city". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
"Garden Grove (city), California". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau.
"Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990". U.S. Census Bureau.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0629000.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
City of Garden Grove CAFR Retrieved 2009-08-14
"Statewide Database". UC Regents. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
"Communities of Interest - City". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
"Communities of Interest - City". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
City of Garden Grove CAFR
"About Us." Westminster School District. Retrieved on June 25, 2015.
"About Us." Huntington Beach Union High School District. Retrieved on June 25, 2015.
"The Kids Aren't Alright by The Offspring". Retrieved August 31, 2010.

"Retail religion". The Economist. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

External links

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