The Church Formerly Known As the Crystal Cathedral

The Christ Cathedral is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. e Christ Cathedral is the former Crystal Cathedral, the building designed by Philip Johnson in Garden Grove (Orange County, California, 1977-1980). e church lies just south of Interstate 5 South, within a residential area. Next to it are five other buildings — among them the older church designed by Richard Neutra in 1961 and a congress center by Richard Meier — entirely surrounded by parking lots. Two blocks northwest is Disneyland. e cathedral is a prism covered in mirror glass. From the outside the church is no different from a data center or a shopping mall: a big box next to a parking lot. e church is just there, much more parked than grounded.