Garden Grove, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Garden Grove, California
City
Christ Cathedral
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  Absit Invidia (Latin), 'Let there be no ill will'
Location of Garden Grove in Orange County, California
Garden Grove, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
Founded	1874
Incorporated	June 18, 1956
Government
• Type	Council–manager
Area
• Total	17.98 sq mi (46.56 km2)
• Land	17.96 sq mi (46.51 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)  0.10%
Elevation	89 ft (27 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	171,949
• Rank	5th in Orange County 30th in California
• Density	9,558.08/sq mi (3,690.40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	92840–92846
Area codes	657/714
FIPS code	06-29000
GNIS feature IDs	1660662, 2410568

Garden Grove is a city located in the northern part of Orange County, California, in the United States. In 2020, about 171,949 people lived there. A major road, State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, runs through the city from east to west. The western side of the city is called West Garden Grove.

History of Garden Grove

Garden Grove, around the 1950s

How Garden Grove Started

Garden Grove was founded in 1874 by a person named Alonzo Cook. In the same year, a school district and a church were started. For a while, it was a small farming area. Farmers grew crops like oranges, walnuts, chili peppers, and later, strawberries.

Growth in the 20th Century

The town really started to grow when the Pacific Electric Railroad arrived in 1905. This train connection brought more tourists, visitors, and new residents.

In 1933, a big earthquake, called the Long Beach earthquake, damaged much of the town's main shopping area. After World War II, Garden Grove grew very quickly. It officially became a city in 1956, with about 44,000 people living there.

In 1956, a large shopping center called Orange County Plaza opened. By 1959, it had 60 stores and was known as the biggest shopping center in Orange County at the time.

Geography of Garden Grove

Garden Grove has an interesting shape with many narrow parts, like "panhandles." For example, the West Garden Grove area is mostly separate from the rest of the city. It's located west of Beach Boulevard.

Other cities that share a border with Garden Grove include Stanton, Westminster, Santa Ana, and Fountain Valley. To the north, you'll find Cypress and Anaheim. To the east is Orange, and to the west are Seal Beach and Los Alamitos.

The city covers about 46.5 square kilometers (17.98 square miles) of land. Only a tiny part of it is water.

Population and People

Population in 2020

In 2020, Garden Grove had a population of 171,949 people. The city is very diverse, with many different racial and ethnic groups living there. A large part of the population is of Asian background, making up over 42% of residents. People of Hispanic or Latino heritage also make up a significant portion, about 37%.

Population in 2010

In 2010, the city's population was 170,883. Most people lived in homes, with only a small number in group living situations.

There were over 46,000 households in Garden Grove. Many of these households (46.4%) had children under 18 living in them. The average household had about 3.67 people.

The population included people of all ages. About 25.6% were under 18, and 10.8% were 65 or older. The average age in the city was 35.6 years old.

Most homes (57%) were owned by the people living in them, while others were rented.

Economy and Jobs

Garden Grove has many different businesses that provide jobs for its residents. Here are some of the top employers in the city:

Arts and Culture

Garden Grove is a place where you can enjoy live performances. It has two main theaters: the Gem Theater and the Festival Amphitheater. The Festival Amphitheater is home to Shakespeare Orange County, which puts on a special Shakespeare Festival every summer.

Garden Grove Strawberry Festival

One of the biggest events in Garden Grove is the annual Strawberry Festival. It happens every year during Memorial Day weekend. This festival is one of the largest community events in the western United States, attracting about 250,000 visitors!

The festival started in 1958. It celebrates the city's history of farming, especially its past crops like strawberries, chili peppers, oranges, and walnuts. A fun part of the festival is cutting the world's largest strawberry shortcake. You can also enjoy carnival rides, food, live music, and a parade with famous people. Many local groups, like the Miss Garden Grove Scholarship Program, take part in the festivities each year.

To celebrate Garden Grove's 50th anniversary, the city even painted some of its fire hydrants with a strawberry design! This shows how important the festival is to the city's history.

Education

Most of Garden Grove is served by the Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD). Other school districts also cover parts of the city, including 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.

High Schools in Garden Grove

The Garden Grove Unified School District operates several high schools within the city:

• Bolsa Grande High School
• Garden Grove High School
• Pacifica High School
• Rancho Alamitos High School
• Santiago High School

There are also private schools, like King of Kings Christian Academy, which serves students from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade. Additionally, Asahi Gakuen, a part-time Japanese school, holds classes at La Quinta High School in Westminster on Saturdays.

City Services

Emergency Services

The Garden Grove Police Department is in charge of keeping the city safe and enforcing laws. They sometimes get help from the Anaheim Police Department's helicopter and the Orange County Sheriff's Department Air Unit.

Since August 2019, the city of Garden Grove has partnered with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) for fire and rescue services. All the firefighters and equipment from the former Garden Grove Fire Department are now part of the OCFA.

Notable People from Garden Grove

Many talented people have lived in or come from Garden Grove, including actors, musicians, and athletes.

Entertainment

• Justin Chon, actor
• Wally George, talk-show host
• Scott Klopfenstein, musician from the band Reel Big Fish
• Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring
• Steve Martin, famous actor, comedian, and writer; he went to Garden Grove High School
• Jennette McCurdy, podcaster, author, and actress from shows like iCarly
• Monique Powell, lead singer of Save Ferris
• Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman, lead guitarist of The Offspring
• Atreyu, a metalcore band
• Kieu Chinh, actress
• Poreotics, a dance crew
• Dave Mustaine, guitarist and lead singer of Megadeth
• Vicky Nguyen, news reporter
• Shubhendra Shankar, musician and composer
• Mick Mars, musician and guitarist for Mötley Crüe
• David J. Peterson, creator of languages for Game of Thrones

Sports

• Bert Blyleven, Major League Baseball pitcher and Hall of Famer
• Ed Caruthers, Olympic silver medalist in 1968
• Bobby Crosby, MLB Rookie of the Year in 2004
• Mary Decker, famous runner
• Lenny Dykstra, MLB player
• Amanda Freed, Olympic gold medalist in softball in 2004
• Luis Gil, soccer player
• Gary Hall Sr., Olympic swimmer
• Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison, legendary surfer
• Mike Iupati, football player
• Jeremy Jackson, mixed martial artist
• Norm Johnson, NFL kicker
• Darryl Kile, MLB pitcher
• Leah O'Brien, Olympic gold medalist in softball in 1996
• Craig Paquette, MLB third baseman
• Nam Phan, mixed martial artist
• Troy Polamalu, NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Dennis Sigalos, motorcycle speedway rider
• Leo Sutherland, MLB player
• Ed Templeton, professional skateboarder and artist
• Alan Trammell, MLB shortstop and manager
• Matt Treanor, MLB catcher
• Randy Vataha, football player

Other Notable People

• Steve Fossett, aviator and adventurer
• Michael A. Monsoor, Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient
• Tibor Rubin, Medal of Honor recipient
• Robert H. Schuller, television evangelist
• Nicole Brown Simpson, known for her connection to O.J. Simpson

Sister City

Garden Grove has a special friendship with another city:

• Anyang, South Korea

See also

In Spanish: Garden Grove (California) para niños