Garden Grove Is a Suburban City Near Theme Parks

A chemical crisis in Southern California led to evacuations after a leak at an industrial site in Garden Grove. Garden Grove is a suburban city in Orange County with an estimated population of about 170,000 and a culturally diverse community, including large Hispanic and Asian American populations. The city is closely tied to Little Saigon, with thousands of Vietnamese American–owned businesses and a strong Vietnamese American presence alongside neighboring Westminster. Garden Grove also has a Koreatown centered on Garden Grove Boulevard. The city developed from an agricultural area into middle-class neighborhoods after World War II, with aerospace industry growth beginning in the 1960s and 1970s. The leak occurred at a GKN Aerospace location that opened in 1963 and produces jet engines and aircraft components.

"The chemical crisis that prompted evacuations in Southern California on Friday occurred at an industrial site in Garden Grove, a suburban city with a large Vietnamese American population just a short drive from Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. In Orange County, the city is just five miles from the Disney parks in Anaheim, but there are more restaurants with good pho in Garden Grove than mouse ears."

"With neighboring Westminster, the city shares Little Saigon, the cultural heart of the Vietnamese American population in California. The area is home to thousands of businesses owned by Vietnamese Americans. Nearby, Koreatown is centered on several blocks of Garden Grove Boulevard. Like much of Orange County, and as its name suggests, Garden Grove was an agricultural area throughout the 1800s and up until the 1950s."

"After World War II, development boomed. In the 50s and 60s, all of Southern California was built with very affordable middle class homes with two or three bedrooms and one bath, said Candace Chromy, executive director of the Heritage Museum of Orange County. That's exactly what these typical neighborhoods are in Garden Grove. Vietnamese American and Korean American immigrants moved to the area in the 1970s, Ms. Chromy said."

"The chemical leak on Friday occurred at a Garden Grove location for GKN Aerospace, a British-based manufacturing company that produces jet engines and other components for military and civilian aircraft. A city planning document said that the facility originally opened in 1963."

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