Garden Grove highlight
Crystal Cathedral / Christ Cathedral landmark
Built in 1980 and designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the building was rededicated as Christ Cathedral by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in 2019.
The Crystal Cathedral stands on Chapman Avenue as one of Garden Grove's most distinctive landmarks. Architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed the building, which was completed in 1980 and stood 128 feet tall. The structure measures 415 feet long and 215 feet wide, with a distinctive modernist glass design that makes it recognizable throughout the region. For decades it served as the home of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a Reformed Church congregation, becoming a place where thousands of people gathered.
In 2011, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the property for $57.5 million, and beginning in 2013 undertook extensive renovations to adapt the building for use as a cathedral. On July 17, 2019, the Diocese held a formal Mass to rededicate the building as Christ Cathedral, the bishop's seat for the Diocese of Orange. The renovations preserved the distinctive glass architecture while making interior modifications to accommodate Catholic liturgical practices. The cathedral now houses the Hazel Wright Organ, described as the fifth-largest pipe organ in the world.
A landmark like this reminds families of something: a place built for one purpose sometimes becomes something else, and that's all right. Life insurance is the opposite—you pick the purpose. A 20-year term covers the years when a young family needs it most. A 30-year term locks the rate through a mortgage and children's independence. Shorter and longer terms are there too. What matters is matching the term to the time your household actually needs the coverage, then letting it end.