MAIN STREET at Acacia in downtown Garden Grove (Tribune photo).

Paying Tribute Dept.: Garden Grove began as a small village centered on what is now Euclid Street and Garden Grove Boulevard.

A lot has changed since 1874, but the historic core remains on nearby Main Street. There are buildings there that date back as much as a century, and the area has a resiliency that has survived floods, earthquakes, epidemics and changing patterns of commerce and transportation.

The downtown-civic center area is more alive now than it’s been in years. The new police Public Safety building is finished and occupied, and the Garden Grove Main Branch library is undergoing a major modernization that should be completed in 2027.

Main Street itself is seeing a wave of new activity. Main Street Cards, with its gamer audience of young and old, is bringing a new audience to the downtown.

The Tribute Coffee House – featuring coffees, teas, pastries, sandwiches and more – has had its soft opening and will have its grand opening soon.

What used to be Main Street Barbers is now Main Street Beauty Salon. The old pawn shop building is being gutted for new uses, and right next door construction continues – albeit somewhat irregularly – on the planned three-story Smallwood Plaza building.

An electric “claw” game arcade is planned and plays at the Gem Theater are playing to sold-out audiences.
What’s old is new again. Other cities are struggling to create downtowns. Garden Grove has one. It can be bigger and better if we all come together to support and patronize it.