Los Angeles Crystal Cathedral

Los Angeles Crystal Cathedral

The Crystal Cathedral is a megachurch affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, located in Garden Grove, Orange County, California. The term "Crystal Cathedral" does not mean it is a strictly defined bishop's cathedral; rather, it is an architectural landmark in Southern California.

The church was designed by the famous architect Philip Johnson and can accommodate 2,736 worshippers. It features over 10,000 rectangular glass panes attached to the structure using silicone glue. These features were designed to enable the building to withstand earthquakes of up to magnitude 8.0 and winds of up to 100 miles per hour. Inside the church is a massive pipe organ with 287 ranks and over 16,000 pipes, ranking fifth in the world in terms of the number of pipes and ranks.

Next to the church is a tower-like structure. The ground floor serves as a prayer room that is open 24 hours a day. The top of the tower houses a 52-bell carillon, which can be used for timekeeping, announcements, and playing sacred music. Originally, Reverend Robert H. Schuller rented a drive-in movie theater as a venue for Sunday daytime sermons. To this day, speakers are still maintained in the parking lot for congregants who wish to listen to the service from their cars.

Both the main sanctuary and auxiliary chapel have giant operable window doors that can be opened to deliver sermons to audiences both inside and outside the building. The church gardens and buildings feature various sculptures based on biblical stories or verses, all crafted with vivid and exquisite detail.