The Glass Megachurch That Started as Drive-In Sermons from a Snack Stand in 1955

Crystal Cathedral, California

Before megachurches had coffee bars, there was one with 10,000 windows. The Crystal Cathedral opened in 1980 as the new home for Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power, the country’s most-watched religious TV show.

Here’s how a drive-in preacher created television’s most recognizable church, still standing as a landmark today.

It Started at a Drive-In Movie Theater

Robert Schuller didn’t begin his ministry in some fancy church. In 1955, he rented the Orange Drive-In Theatre and preached from the roof of the snack bar to people sitting in their cars.

It worked. Families could attend church without dealing with crying babies or finding babysitters. Schuller’s outdoor sermons drew bigger and bigger crowds.

The TV Show Came Before the Crystal Cathedral

Hour of Power first launched on February 8, 1970, a full decade before the Crystal Cathedral was even built.

Schuller started broadcasting from his smaller Garden Grove Community Church, designed by famous architect Richard Neutra. The show was revolutionary, one of the first weekly church services broadcast on television.

By the time the Crystal Cathedral opened, Hour of Power was already reaching millions of viewers worldwide.

Philip Johnson Called It “Architecture of Light Alone”

When Schuller needed a bigger church, he went straight to the top. Philip Johnson, one of America’s most famous architects, designed the Crystal Cathedral as an “all-glass church.”

Johnson explained his vision: “This is not an architecture of light and shadow but of light alone.”

The building was meant to blur the line between indoor and outdoor space, keeping Schuller’s drive-in philosophy alive in a permanent structure.

It Has More Glass Than Most Skyscrapers

The Crystal Cathedral contains 12,661 panes of glass, making it look more like a giant greenhouse than a traditional church.

After its completion in 1981, it was described as “the largest glass building in the world. The reflective glass panels were specially treated to filter out 80% of sunlight, but even so, the interior stayed incredibly bright.

Some churchgoers actually wore sunglasses during Sunday services.

The Opening Gala Was Pure 1980s Extravaganza

The opening gala for the Crystal Cathedral was held on May 14, 1980, with 3,000 guests paying $1,500 each.

The gala included a recital of music by Vivaldi, Schubert, and Rossini, with the operatic singer Beverly Sills performing solos. The fundraising was so successful that the cathedral opened completely debt-free, which was almost unheard of for such a massive project.

It Has No Air Conditioning (On Purpose)

The building was designed to use passive cooling, with operable windows that could open like “glass gills” from the smooth surface. The mirrored glass transmits only eight percent light and ten percent total solar energy into the space.

The Doors Are Massive and Electric

Behind the pulpit, two towering 27.50m doors open electronically, letting in sunlight and a warm breeze. That’s about 90 feet tall, nearly the height of a nine-story building.

These giant doors were a signature feature of Schuller’s services. He could preach to the indoor congregation, then turn around and address hundreds of people sitting in their cars in the parking lot, just like his old drive-in days.

Hour of Power Reached 20 Million Viewers at Its Peak

During the 1990s, his televised sermons were regularly viewed by an estimated audience of 20 million people worldwide, making it one of the most-watched religious programs in history.

The Crystal Cathedral became the perfect TV studio, with its dramatic glass walls and soaring ceiling creating an unforgettable backdrop.

Financial Trouble Led to a Surprising Sale

Despite its success, Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy in 2010, claiming $50 million in debt.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange acquired the property the following year and rechristened the building “Christ Cathedral.” It was probably the first time a Protestant megachurch was converted into a Catholic cathedral.

You Can Still Visit Today (But It Looks Different Inside)

In July 2019, the diocese celebrated the Dedication of Christ Cathedral and the completion of its renovation by architectural firm Johnson Fain.

The outside still looks the same, but the interior has been dramatically changed for Catholic worship. 11,000 steel powder-coated plastic-and-fabric squares form a shade screen that emits points of light, reducing the greenhouse effect that once made people wear sunglasses.

The building continues to serve as a spiritual home to Orange County’s 1.3 million Catholics.

Visiting Crystal Cathedral

The original Crystal Cathedral is now Christ Cathedral, owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

You’ll find it at 13280 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, California. The visitor center includes a small exhibit on the cathedral’s television history with photos from early broadcasts.

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