Crystal Cathedral

The Garden Grove Community Church was founded in 1955 by Robert H. Schuller and his wife Arvella. An affiliate of the Reformed Church in America, the church first held services in space rented from the Orange Drive-In Theatre. In 1961, the congregation moved to a new sanctuary designed by architect Richard Neutra.In 1968, The Tower of Hope was completed, providing office and classroom space.Continued growth led to the need for a new facility. Schuller envisioned a unique facility with walls made of glass and commissioned architect Philip Johnson. Construction on the Crystal Cathedral began in 1977 and was completed in 1980, built at a cost of $18 million. The signature rectangular panes of glass comprising the building are not bolted to the structure; they are glued to it using a silicone-based glue. This and other measures are intended to allow the building to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0. The building was constructed using over 10,000 rectangular panes of glass. Upon moving from the old Neutra sanctuary to the new Johnson sanctuary in 1981, the congregation changed its name to the "Crystal Cathedral". The name is merely an alliterative construct; the building is not made of crystal and it is not a true cathedral in that it does not house a bishop's official seat (cathedra). In 1990 the Prayer Spire was completed. Dr. Robert H. Schuller said, "When the local congregation reached 10,000 and we needed a bigger church building, I remembered how wonderful it had been at my little drive-in church (where the ministry began in 1955) where there had been no walls or ceiling-it was there I fell in love with the sky! And that's why we built the Crystal Cathedral with walls and a roof of glass-crystal-clear glass that lets the sun and sky sparkle through our wonderful sanctuary."