Jan. 2, 1492
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sept. 8, 1771



May 1832
Feb. 2, 1848
1811-1878
 
 
 
circa 1865
 
 
 
 
 
 
Late 1870s
 
 
 
 
circa 1883
1883
 
 

1885
 
opened 1885
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1880s
circa 1895
 
 
circa 1885
  
 
 circa 1885
 
1886
 
 
 
 
opened 1885
 
 
 
 
 
1887
 
January 1887
  
1887-1890
 
 
1888
 
 
March 4, 1889
  
Jan. 30, 1890
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
1893-1914
 
 
 
 
  
1871-1944
 
 
 
 
1893
circa 1894
1894
  
June 1895
 
 
 
circa 1898
 
Sept. 23, 1888
 
 
 
 1901
 
 1901
  
  
Sept. 1901
  
  
early 1900s
Oct. 1901
  
  
  
  
July 11, 1903
 

  
 
1903
 
 
 
October 1903
 
 
 
 
1903
1903
 
 
circa 1903
1904
 
Jan. 5, 1904
 
 
 
 
 
1905-1924
 
 
 
circa 1905
 
1906
 
built 1906
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
circa 1907
1907
 
 
1908
1908
 
 
 
 
July 4, 1908
 
 
1908
1912
 
built 1912
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1913
 
 
 
 
1913
 
1913
 
 
 
 
 
 
June 28, 1914
circa 1915
 1915
circa 1915
 
Mar. 18, 1916
1916
 
 
 
 
Nov. 11, 1918
1919
 
 
 
1919
 
1920
 
1920s
 
 
 
1920s
 
 
 
 
1921
Sept. 9, 1922
1923
 
 
1923
 
Oct. 18, 1924
1926
 
 
 
 
late 1920s
 
 
 
 
late 1920s
 
late 1920s
 
1927
 
1928
 
 
 
 Oct. 24, 1929
 
 
 
 
 
1929-1946
 
 
 
 
 
1931
1931
 
 
1931
Oct. 9, 1932
 
 
 
 

  
 
 
1934
 
1934
 
 
 

 
1937-1941
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
1938-1939
 
1940
 
 
1939-1940
 
 
1940
1940
 
Nov. 30, 1941
 
1945
 
 
1885-1945
 
 
 
1948
 
 
1948
1949
1949
 
 
 

 
1940s
 
 
 
 
 
1949
 
 
circa 1950
circa 1950
 
 
1951
 
 1961
1961
 
 
1961-2003
 
 
 
 
 
Nov. 15, 1978
 
 
1920-2003
July 11, 2003
2003
1917-2004
1914-2004
 
1906-2006
1971-2007
July 29, 2007
August 2007
 
 
 Jan. 1, 2008
Jan. 1, 2012

1. In this photo, King Boabdil gives the key of Granada to the Catholic Kings. In 1491, Muhammad XII was summoned by Ferdinand and Isabella to surrender the city of Granada, and on his refusal it was besieged by the Castilians. Eventually, on 2 January 1492, Granada was surrendered. King Boabdil was the last ruling Arabic king of  Spain. His association to Alhambra is that Boabdil was the original name given to Main Street. However, the word was too difficult for Alhambra residents to pronounce, so Boabdil was renamed simply as Main Street.
2. This photo is named "The Farewell of King Boabdil at Granada" by Alfred Dehodencq.
3. Founding of the Mission San Gabriel Archangel by Father Junipero Serra - The "Mision del Santo Arcangel San Gabriel de los Temblores" (Mission of the Holy Archangel Saint Gabriel of the Earthquakes) is the established birthplace of the Los Angeles region.
4. The Alhambra, written by Washington Irving and published in 1832.
5. Mexico and U.S. Sign Treaty of Hidalgo (1848)
6. Benjamin Wilson (Don Benito) as a young man 
7. Don Benito with his second wife, Margaret Hereford Wilson
8. Don Benito Wilson Portrait 
9. Gravestone of Don Benito
10. The first Rhone wine grape varietals (Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignane) are brought to the San Gabriel Valley by Tennessee-born Benjamin Wilson, who helped make it California's leading wine region.
11. San Gabriel Winery (date unknown) -- was the largest winery in the world before blight destroyed the vineyards. It was located in the area southeast of where Costco now stands.
12. Information about the San Gabriel Winery from the History of Wine
13. A great publicity campaign was launched with the slogan "Oranges for Health, California for Wealth." The result was a tremendous migration to California. Between 1880 and 1890, the population of California increased by 345,000.
14. Orange Pickers (date unknown)
15. Orchards and homes of Alhambra
16. A pair of telephone wires were installed at the San Gabriel Winery at what is now Main Street and Palm Avenue--seven years after Alexander Graham Bell obtained his first telephone patent.
17. The Santa Fe Railroad completes a second transcontinental rail line into Los Angeles, breaking the Southern Pacific Railroad's monopoly.
18. Tilley's Restaurant - Built by H. W. Stanton at the corner of Main and Garfield, the building was first used as a post office and grocery. The upstairs hall was used as a church, school, community meetings, and entertainment gathering place. H. W. Stanton was the first storekeeper, postmaster, teacher, telephone agent, land subdivider and promoter. After subdividing several ranches he became wealthy and retired. He took a trip around the world, but upon his return to Alhambra found that the boom had gone bust, and he too was broke.
19. Newspaper Clippings re. Health-Related Issues in L.A. County
20. James deBarth Shorb with Family, on porch of residence
21. A Biography of James deBarth Shorb (by Christine Montain, Former Director of Utilities, City of Alhambra)
22. The original J. DeBarth Shorb residence, before additions
23. Letter on the Life of Maria Ynez Shorb White Buck
24. The Shorbs of Los Angeles (Andrew & James deBarb Shorb) 
25. Washington School in San Gabriel - Built after the Arroyo School was abandoned
26. Garfield School, Alhambra - The first school (after the Arroyo School) was Garfield, which had a cupola that could be seen from far and a bell with a tongue that reached beyond the district's boundaries. The building had no electricity, heat, plumbing or window screens. (Photo: courtesy of Fame Rybicki)
27. Charles Winter-First Blacksmith Shop in Alhambra - 4 W. Main St.
28. Charles Winter with Son
29. Alhambra Livery Feed & Sale Stable (date unknown)
30. Alhambra Ice Wagon (date unknown) - On hot days, Alhambra children would run to the "Ice Wagon" to ask for slivers of ice, a "luxury" in those days.
31. Dr. F. B. Elwood subscribes for telephone service and becomes a telephone agent for the Sunset Telephone-Telegraph Company.
32. City's first plumbing business opened by Robert Morehead with a cash capital of $100.
33. St. James Chapel, a Methodist Church was established as Alhambra's first church in 1887. In 1890, the growth of the church led to a new chapel designed to accommodate 400 persons.
34. The city's first library and reading room was established in the second story rooms over the Alhambra Savings Bank at Garfield
    and Main.
35. Alhambra Bank, the City's first bank opened for business at the southwest corner of Garfield and Main.
36. Opening of the Ramona Convent - The new Convent had seven boarders and nine students. The Convent was built on land donated by James de Barth Shorb, one of the early prominant early citizens of Alhambra. Shorb's daughter, Edith, disliked going to Northern California to boarding school and it is said she convinced her father to donate the land so the Sisters would start a school in Southern California. As part of Alhambra's Centennial celebration, a local artist, Victor Amor, is casting a bronze statue of James de Barth Shorb from a picture from Ramona's archives.
37. Alhambra's first hospital begins in a remodeled bungalow at the corner of Second and Main. The hospital closed down a year later and patients then had to go to Los Angeles if they needed hospitalization. A second hospital opened in 1914 at the corner of Chapel and Main by the Alhambra Medical Association, and was moved a year later to a remodeled house on South Third Street.
38. Millbank Johnson, M.D. - See bio at www.dfe.net/Milbank_Johnson.html.
39. Dr. Milbank Johnson's home in Alhambra, located on First Street where the present Alhambra City Hall now stands. The home was known as the "Brick House." (date unknown)
40. Incorporation of Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company
41. Jacob Bean Home - Corner of Granada Ave. & Alhambra Road
42. During the nationwide railroad strike, labor rioting broke out in Los Angeles and U.S. Army troops were deployed to restore order.  
43. First graduating class of Garfield Public School, Alhambra - Left to right: Winnie Stokes, Charles Bishop, Henry Olson, Isabella Crowell, Minnie Leply, Charles Adams, Mabel Dinsmore, Professor Jone-teacher, Estella Wallace, De Ver McLaren.
44. The original Alhambra Hotel - Built by H. W. Stanton in connection with a group of real estate salesmen.
45. First Presbyterian Church of Alhambra (Dedicated September 23, 1888) -- One room church with a bell tower (with no bell) was located on South Second Street. Gail Borden donated a hand crank type pipe organ.
46. Henry Huntington forms the Pacific Electric Railway Company that would link Los Angeles by a network of rail cars.
47. President McKinley's Train Comes to Alhambra -The train stopped at the Alhambra Station and proceeded to Los Angeles. President McKinley was the first U.S. President to visit the Los Angeles area.
48. President McKinley was assassinated by a deranged anarchist while standing in a receiving line at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition. He died eight days later.
49. Bakery Delivery Wagon - Operated from its location at 14 W. Main St.
50. Pacific Electric: Alhambra-San Gabriel Line - Los Angeles and Pasadena Electric Railway (predecessor of PE) begins construction on the Alhambra line and on June 21, 1902 the line was opened with cars of the LA & P 90 Class running through to General Hospital in L.A. on a 30-minute schedule.
51. Seal of Incorporation - Alhambra becomes an incorporated city and three days later the first elected Board of Trustees were sworn into office. The first mayor of Alhambra was Newton W. Thompson, who held the office from 1903-1908.
52. Origin of Alhambra Street Names 
53. Law enforcement is handled by a town marshall. His job is light enough that he had time to act as a tax and license collector, and also to repair the streets and sidewalks. William Hall was elected as the city's first peace officer to patrol the city's dirt streets.
54. First official street engineering job involved paving Vega Street. $25 bought four iron trash boxes at the corner of Garfield and Main for the "promotion of cleaner streets." Sewer service provided to the northeastern section of the city. Alhambra's street lighting system began with some 200 lights, patrolled by bicycle at night.
55. Pacific Light & Power Company brings electricity to Alhambra.
56. Standard Felt Company begins operation as Alhambra's first industrial company. Founded on the site of the old San Gabriel Winery.
57. Main Street in Alhambra, looking west
58. (1904) Main Street was widened to 90 feet from the west city limits to First Street, and Garfield was improved. Marengo was graded.
59. An ordinance adopted on this date prohibited any "automobile, bike, riding machine or horseless vehicle" from traveling across intersections or around corners at a speed of more than four miles an hour and from traveling anywhere in the city limits at a speeds greater than eight miles an hour.
60. Garfield School (date unknown)
61. Alhambra City High School - Built for a capacity of 500 students although there were actually only 100 students at that time. By 1924, the enrollment had increased so substantially that the building was replaced with a new school.
62. Donahue Family  Home - Southwest Corner of Garfield and Commonwealth
63. City of Alhambra files first building report. 161 permits were issued
    in 1906 valued at $200,343.
64. Giles E. Ratkowski Home - This 15-room house, with many Chinese architectural features, was located at the northeast corner of Fremont and Valley Blvd. It was built by an engineer, Antonio Cajal, who had been to Peking. When he returned during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, he brought back a collection of sketches of a Chinese temple, which he then incorporated in the designs of curved Oriental eaves, lions' heads and serpents. From 1908 to 1926, the house had a number of owners, but in August 1926 it was purchased by Giles E. and Evelyn Ratkowski. The house sustained severe damage during the Whittier earthquake and was demolished in 1988. Mr. Ratkowski is shown in the center of the picture. Personal Recollections of the home by Fame Rybicki, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ratkowski. 
65. Diamond Castle--Grand Ave. East of Atlantic
66. The Owens Valley Project Bond Issue was brought before Los Angeles City voters, thereby bringing water to Los Angeles and accelerating growth
67. Alhambra High School - Baseball Team
68. Martens Family Home - 11 S. Hidalgo Ave.- Occupied by the family until 1913, then became the Alhambra Day Nursery for more than 30 years
69. Gail Borden Johnson's home in Alhambra, site of Alhambra's present post office (date unknown)
70. Alhambra celebrates July 4th - The school children of the entire school district turned out for the occasion. There was only one automobile in the city at that time. 
71. The first motion picture was made in Los Angeles
72. Methodist Church on Easter Sunday - Flowers used to decorated the church were from family gardens
73. Midwick Country Club - Located on 208 acres, the Club was referred to as the "granddaddy" of all the clubs in Los Angeles County. A regulation polo field was erected along Hellman Avenue along with a clubhouse, 4 guest apartments, tennis courts, swimming pool, and two smaller polo fields at a cost of $500,000. Membershp was selective and for whites only. The fee: $3,800 plus $22.50/month. The 1932 Olympics held several equestrian events there, including the Grand Prix and Hunter-Jumper competitions. Membership dwindled with the Great Depression and the club was sold at an auction for $178,000 to Dominic Jebbia, an Italian immigrant. The property was later sold to a developer--a small portion was donated to Los County as Granada Park. Personal Recollection by Alhambra resident Fame Rybicki
74. On Alhambra's 10th anniversary, Alhambrans roped off the principal streets of the city and converted them into a 65-mile automobile speedway. The winner of the race was George Fetterman who covered the course in 73 minutes, 52.2 seconds in his Pope-Hartford. The cash prize was $300.
75. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, thereby creating the federal income tax
76. The Los Angeles Aqueduct begins delivering water from the
    Owens Valley. It was the largest municipal water system in the
    nation. Alhambra bought its water from the San Gabriel Valley Water Company, which was supplied from Kewen Canyon (now in San Marino).
77. Postcard of Granada Avenue (date unknown)
78. Postcard of Alhambra City Hall (date unknown)
79. World War I begins
80. Fire Trucks of Alhambra Fire Department
81.  New library opend to more than 1,000 visitors
82. Alhambra's Fire Department, consisting of three fire stations, each having a fire truck
83. Orange Day - "Eat California Oranges"
84. City of Alhambra purchases the water wells in Kewen Canyon and pipelines in the City of Alhambra.
85. Corporal Tom Pope, U.S. Army - The only World War I veteran from Alhambra wins the Congressional Medal of Honor (the Nation's Highest Honor).
86. World War I ends
87. Henry Huntington donated land to Alhambra for constructing Alhambra Park. Huntington was a local railroad magnate who owned vast holdings in the San Gabriel Valley, including the famous Huntington Library in San Marino which was his home.
88. Charles Malone - Fifth person from the left, Malone was an Alhambra patrol officer in 1919 and a sergeant in the 1940s
89. Alhambra Hospital established. Later sold to Alhambra Community Hospital in 1951.
90. Owl Drug Co. Medical Building - Corner of Main & Garfield. Land for the building was purchased in 1922 by Dr. Weber for $30,000. The building was sold  in 1928 for $250,000 by the Forbes Company in a record real estate deal.
91. Fremont Avenue - Looking west at Valley Blvd., which was being widened and paved at the time. Photo was donated by Giles E. Ratkowski, who moved to Alhambra in 1925 and purchased the corner of Fremont and Valley. The family retained the property until 1996 when it was sold as commercial property.
92. The Alhambra plunge opened.
93. Dry Hand Mop Booth at Businessmen's Carnival
94. Building permit valuations reach $7,231,330 in 1923, a high that was not equaled until immediately after the Second World War in 1946 when they were valued at $8,148,006. 
95. Main Street (1923) -- Heavy traffic flow on Main Street at Garfield Avenue
96. Alhambra Police Officers 
97. Dupuy's Pyrenees Castle - Alhambra's famed French chateau, located on the hill south of Valley Boulevard and west of Fremont, is similiar to those in the Pyrenees Mountains. Click here for article published in Around Alhambra, February 2001 and personal recollection by Alhambra resident Fame Rybicki. 
98. Former Home of Clyde Forsythe - This is where the famous painter Norman Rockwell illustrated several Saturday Evening Post covers. Forsythe built an art studio above the garage that was used by Rockwell. Articles about Norman Rockwell by Warner Jenkins and Fame Rybicki
99. Eli Harvey, Sculptor -- Famous sculptor who knew Norman Rockwell and was a resident of Alhambra's "Artist Alley"
100. Jack Wilkinson Smith -- Biographical information on one of the artists who once lived in Alhambra's "Artists Alley"
101. Charles Lindbergh makes a solo flight across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in a little over 33 hours
102. North section of what is now Story Park was donated to the city by F. Q. Story. Three years later, the south section of Story Park was purchased from the Alhambra Athletic Club for $25,000 which included the clubhouse, pool and a gym, which burned down in 1945.
103. There is a collapse of stock prices on the NY stock exchange and within a week, the market loses $30 billion, plunging the country into the Great Depression. By 1930, the nation's unemployment is estimated at 4.5 million.
104. Alhambra Airport -- from "Abandoned & Little Known Airfields: California-East Los Angeles Area" 
105. Alhambra Airport Western Airlines Pacific Coach Terminal -
     Formerly located on East Valley Boulevard.
     Personal Recollection of the Alhambra Airport by Fame Rybicki, a long-time Alhambra resident
106. Alhambra Airport Aerial View
107. Bob Cannon's Story - Alhambra resident and airplane pilot who used to fly in/out of the Alhambra Airport
108. El Molino Bakery
109. Alhambra Song
110. Temple Theater (date unknown)
111. Garfield Theater (date unknown)   
112. Fire Station #3  - 2200 West Main Street at Poplar Avenue
113. Thomas C. Allen - Made a historic flight as one of the first two Black aviators to make a transcontinental airplane flight from Los Angeles to Long Island, N.Y. Allen was the flight mechanic. J. Herman Banning was the pilot. The 3,300 mile flight took 41 hours and 27 minutes in a plane that had been pieced together from junkyard parts. The trip actually required 21 days to complete because the pilots had to raise money each time they stopped. Allen's son, Duane Allen, a former professional football player resides in Alhambra.
114. Granada Park developed with the aid of county welfare funds which was extended to federal funds.
115. A severe dust storm strips the top soil (estimated at 30 million tons) from several midwestern states. The result is an exodus of farmers from those states to California.
116. Pacific Electric Red Car  #1055 (Date Unknown)
117. The Pacific Electric Story (published by TIMEPOINTS, March 1992)
118. C. F. Braun & Company (Date Unknown) -- Aerial View
119. The Story Book Parade was an annual event staged by youngsters for youngsters. The final parade in 1941 drew more than 40,000 spectators. For weeks before the event, teachers planned, helped and made suggestions to their students in the preparation of their entries. In the final parade, more than 3,500 youngsters participated. World War II, which put an end to public assemblies, spelled the doom of the Parades. After the War was over, the spirit that had made them a success was never revived.
120. Adolph Hitler announces that Austria has been "united" with Germany and Germany invades Czechoslovakia. World War II begins.
121. Annual production in the Alhambra area exceeds $8 million with nearly 4,000 employees; the area is ranked as the 14th in value of products in California.
122. Assessed valuation of the city jumped from about $13 million in 1923 to over $27 million in 1939-40. Building increased more than 600 percent since 1910.
123. Mark Keppel High School opened.
124. A six-mile stretch of the Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway) is opened, becoming the first freeway in the western United States.
125. Pacific Electric "Red Car" makes its last trip on the Alhambra, San Gabriel and Temple City line.
126. Lt. Wayne Denning, a 1938 graduate of Alhambra High School, is lost with five other officers in the "Bermuda Triangle." More information on this story provided by Alhambra resident Fame Rybicki.
127. General George S. Patton, Jr. - General Patton was the grandson of Don Benito (Benjamin Wilson) and son of Ruth Wilson Patton and George S. Patton, Sr. 
128. Link to General Patton's website
129. Building permit valuations set a record at $12,309,205. In the years following, building valuations dropped annually until 1953 when valuations only reached $4,657,885.
130. Emery Park Youth Center completed.
131. Retail trade jumped from $15 million in 1941 to $65 million in 1949.
132. Children playing in the Snow at Granada Park
133. Former Borden Home - photographed during Waldo & Mamie Johnson's ownership. Martheeda Mollenhauer stands in front of the home.
134. Fosselman's Ice Cream Trucks   
     (current company web site/company history)
135. Painting by Josephine Romano Lyden, Alhambra Resident (Date Unknown) -- During the 1930s and 40s, Lyden worked with prominent artists such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Walt Disney, and worked for many years as a teacher for the L.A. Unified School District . She is famous for her paintings of the Molly Bentley Dolls. This photo was donated to the Alhambra Historical Museum.
136. The Pacific Electric Railway Company asks the Public Utilities Commission for permission to replace its famous "Red Cars" with buses on 11 of its 17 lines.
137. Mark Keppel High School
138. Entrance to Mark Keppel High School
139. History of Mark Keppel High School  (By Daniel G. Acosta)
140. Aerial View over Alhambra (date unknown)
141. Almansor Recreation Building completed. 104 additional acres purchased from Crown City Ranch of Pasadena.
142. Alhambra City Seal is adopted.
143. Granada, Spain becomes Alhambra's Sister City. Mayor and Mrs. Talmage Burke hand deliver framed resolution and other gifts to the Mayor of Granada. More photos of The Alhambra in  Granada, Spain.
144. Duane C. Allen - Professional Right-End, Los Angeles RAMS Football team and resident of Alhambra. Son of Thomas C. Allen-one of the first two Black men to make a transcontinental airplane flight from L.A. to New York.
145. Alhambra Southern Pacific Railway Station - Corner of Mission and Palm
146. Dedication Train Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony - Railway Lowering Project
147. Alhambra Flag (date unknown)
148. Tex Schramm - 1938 AHS Graduate & NFL Football Promoter
149. The City of Alhambra celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding
150. Residents' Recollections about Alhambra
151. Talmage Burke - Longtime Councilman & Former 15-Term Mayor
152. Warner Jenkins - Editor of Alhambra Post-Advocate and Alhambra Activist
153. City of Alhambra Public Library Celebrates Centennial 
154. Darrell R. Griffin, Jr. - Former Alhambra Resident Killed in Iraq
155. Alhambra and Kirishima, Japan become sister cities
156. Alhambra Honors 442nd RCT - Congressman Adam Schiff and Mayor Yamauchi joined in recognizing WWII soldiers for their service & sacrifices
157. Alhambra's Float in the 2008 Rose Parade
158. You-Tube Video of Alhambra's 2012 Rose Parade Float

Related Web Sites:

• California Historical Society Online
• Remembering the Pacific Electric Cars (Video history collections of the PE cars available for purchase. See Volume 3 for the Alhambra-Temple City Line.)
• The Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California
• Remapping the Route of the San Gabriel Valley Rapid Transit Railroad (a.k.a. Southern Pacific's "Duarte Branch")
• "The Chinese Experience in the San Gabriel Valley" by Amy Luu, Intern (Museum of Chinese American History in Los Angeles)