USS Angeles visits Starfleet HQ in Garden Grove
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on “Star Trek: Into the Darkness” filming sites in Southern California.
By Capt. Jeremy Kranz
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — USS Angeles members beamed down to where Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) gave his inspirational speech in “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” including the immortal words: “Space. The Final Frontier. …”
Lisa Sobien, Janice Sobien, Dave Mason and I journeyed on May 9 to Christ Cathedral, the Garden Grove filming site for the 2013 movie. Architect Richard Meier designed the Southern California cathedral and its futuristic, curvy Richard H. Pickup Cultural Center, as well as the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The courtyard in front of the cultural center and the Getty Center both served as filming sites for Starfleet headquarters in “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”
“We are here today to rechristen the USS Enterprise and to honor those who lost their lives nearly one year ago,” Capt. Kirk told the Starfleet audience in the scene filmed in front of the Catholic cathedral’s five-story cultural center. He was referring to the lives lost during the battles with Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) and corrupt Starfleet Adm. Alexander Marcus (“Robocop” star Peter Weller).
Kirk went on to cite the captain’s oath: “Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five-year mission: To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
After posing for photos in front of the cultural center, we walked around the campus and its dramatic buildings during the USS Angeles’ first away mission there.
My first impression was, “Wow, look at all those glass windows.” There are tours of the cathedral during the week, but since we were there on a weekend, we just looked around on our own.
I led our team to the Cathedral Memorial Gardens, where we viewed the memorial spaces containing the ashes of two very important people. Our first stop was to honor the voice of Tony the Tiger: Thurl Ravenscroft. He’s the voice actor and singer known for saying “They’re gr-r-reeat!” as the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes character.
We saw Ravenscroft’s columbarium niche, which is a compartment in a wall or structure that holds cremated remains.
Besides Tony the Tiger, Ravenscroft’s deep bass voice was heard in the song “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from CBS’ 1966 animated special “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
His voice is in several places at Disneyland.
Examples include Fritz the parrot in the Enchanted Tiki Room (“Ach du lieber! I almost fell out of mein upper perch”) and the broken singing bust in the Haunted Mansion. Do you remember Buff on the wall of the Country Bear Jamboree, who whistles, then says this line: “Hey, Henry, what’s holdin’ ya up? Let’s get on with the show!”
On behalf of the entire USS Angeles crew, I placed a rose by Ravenscroft’s niche, which is next to his wife June Ravenscroft’s niche.
We then moved on to another well-known figure: Marie Callender, the baking legend who cofounded Marie Callender’s restaurants. Her niche is in front of a stained glass in an alcove, where the source of light is not the sun, but electric lights in the wall behind the glass.
In Callender’s honor, we ate at Marie Callender’s in nearby Orange before coming to Christ Cathedral. I greatly enjoyed the salad bar, which includes three types of soup! I had the split pea and hearty vegetable soups.Yummy! Yummy! I skipped the third soup. Dave, Lisa and Janice also ate lunch and then split a slice of a banana cream pie.
With our stomachs and hearts full, we went to Christ Cathedral, where I placed a rose at Callender’s memorial niche.
Afterward, I visited the cathedral’s gift shop, which I found quite interesting. In addition to books and statues, the shop had jewelry from the Venetian island of Murano, where Venetian glass is produced.
This outing was special because it was a cornucopia of many things: a nice meal, a “Star Trek: Into Darkness” movie scene and the niches of two well-known individuals. I would highly recommend going there to anyone. As Ravenscroft would have said, it’s “gr-r-r-eat!”
Next week’s story: The USS Angeles explores a hospital from “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”
From left, Janice Sobien, Lisa Sobien and Jeremy Kranz gather outside the Christ Cathedral building that appeared in “Star Trek: Into Darkness.” (Photos by Dave Mason / USS Angeles/ Angels Flight)
Jeremy Kranz brings a rose to honor voice actor and singer Thurl Ravenscroft, whose interment is at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. Ravenscroft was the original voice of Tony the TIger in Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes commercials.
Tony the Tiger continues to grace boxes of Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes.
Jeremy Kranz and Lias Sobien strike a “Tony the Tiger” pose in front of a mural on a wall that contains columbarium niche. Thurl Ravenscroft, the original voice of the character, is in the niche in the bottom left, right above the rose that Jeremy brought.
Lisa Sobien, left, and Jan Sobien beam down to Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.
The USS Angeles gathered for lunch at this Marie Callender’s in Orange before going a few miles to the cathedral where pie legend Marie Callender’s cremated remains are kept in a memorial niche.
The USS Angeles places a rose below Marie Callender’s cremated remains at Christ Cathedral.
From left, Janice Sobien, Lisa Sobien, Jeremy Kranz and Dave Mason gather in front of the Christ Cathedral building that served as Starfleet headquarters in “Star Trek: Into Darkness.” (USS Angeles / Angels Flight photo)