CAO DAI temple on Orangewood Avenue in Garden Grove (Tribune photo).

Second of two parts on churches in Garden Grove as we celebrate the community’s founding 150 years ago in 1874.

The post-war boom in babies and building pushed Garden Grove from a town to city and a boom in new houses of worship followed.

St. Columban’s Catholic Church was established in 1955 on Stanford Avenue between Nelson and Euclid streets. The parish grew so fast that a bigger, more modern sanctuary was established in 1967 on an adjacent lot and the original building converted to a hall.

The Garden Grove Community Church was established in 1955 by Rev. Robert Schuller, and soon become famous for the drive-in church concept, first at a movie drive-in and later at a new facility at Chapman Avenue and Lewis Street. In 1981 the new glass-faced Crystal Cathedral opened as the home of the “Hour of Power” TV show.

However, changing times and financial pressures compelled its sale to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and a name change to Christ Cathedral in 2019.

As the city grew in the 50s and 60s, congregations of Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Jehovah’s Witnesses etc. formed and built their own buildings for worship, education and charity.

The third wave is in response to the inflow of Asians (primarily Korean and Vietnamese) starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

There are dozens of temples and other houses of worship in the city, one of the most visually striking being the Cao Dai temple on Orangewood Avenue, west of Magnolia Street.
Caodaism is a faith founded in Vietnam that combines Western and Eastern doctrines.