GARDEN GROVE CA
Date: 09/27/2015
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 U.S. 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. 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. 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.
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.
Economy
According to the City's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, 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 was established July 1965. The district has 70 schools in total: 47 elementary schools, ten intermediate schools, seven high schools, two continuation schools, two adult education centers, and two special education schools.
The district is the third largest among 28 public school in Orange County with 47,960, ranks 11th in size of more than 1,000 school districts in California, and is the 96th largest school district of 17,800 in the U.S.
GGUSD focuses on a core curriculum of basic skills development in reading, writing, science, history-social science, and mathematics. The district also offers music and visual arts instruction, electives, athletics, and leadership development. Their graduation rate stands at 80%.
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.
