Alhambra, California

Alhambra is a city (incorporated on 11 July 1903) located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California which is approx. 8 miles from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 85,804. The city's Zip Codes are 91801 and 91803.

Geography

Alhambra is located about 8 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles at (34.081859, -118.135052). It is bordered by South Pasadena on the northwest, San Marino on the north, San Gabriel on the east, Rosemead on the southeast, Monterey Park on the south, and the Los Angeles districts of Monterey Hills and El Sereno on the west. Major thoroughfares include Atlantic and Valley Boulevards, Mission Road, and Garfield Avenue. The San Bernardino Freeway (I-10) runs through the city's southern portions, and the Long Beach Freeway (I-710) has its northern terminus at Valley Boulevard in the far southwestern portions of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 km² (7.6 mi²), all of which is land.

History

Alhambra is named after Washington Irving's book Tales From The Alhambra, not after the Alhambra palace itself. ^* Alhambra was founded as a suburb of Los Angeles in 1903. Its primarily Asian (Chinese and Korean) and white, Midwestern nature throughout the first 60 years of its history is reflected in the fact that even today, most Southern Californians pronounce the middle syllable of the city's name as a homophone with ham, the meat.

From World War II onward, Alhambra and other cities in the western San Gabriel Valley saw a considerable influx of persons of Mexican ancestry, primarily in the form of upwardly mobile families moving up from less affluent Latino areas such as Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. In the 1950s, numerous Italian-American families also settled in largely middle-class Alhambra, having left the working-class Lincoln Heights district in inner-city Los Angeles. Since the 1970s, white flight has led to a considerable decrease in the city's white population, and the remaining white residents are predominantly empty-nesters and retirees.

Since the 1970s and 1980s, the city's proximity to Asian American-dominated Monterey Park has attracted many East Asian immigrants (initially from Taiwan and Vietnam, but now largely from Hong Kong and Mainland China). An active Chinese business district has since developed on Valley Boulevard. The growing ethnic Chinese influence is also felt in the redevelopment of the city's Main Street area due north, although Main Street continues to cater to predominantly white American tastes. The Asian immigrants settling in Alhambra are usually considerably less affluent than those moving to places such as San Marino, Arcadia and Diamond Bar, with the result that Alhambra has developed some notoriety as a center of Asian-American gang activity, even though many gang members come from the neighboring towns of Rosemead and San Gabriel.

Since the 1960s, Alhambra has suffered from traffic congestion as a result of South Pasadena's success in blocking the completion of the Long Beach Freeway; instead of continuing to the Foothill Freeway in Pasadena, as originally planned, the Long Beach Freeway instead terminates at Valley Boulevard in southwestern Alhambra, overloading many of the city's north-south thoroughfares. As South Pasadena is considerably wealthier and whiter than Alhambra, the impasse has led to significant friction between the two municipalities, including a notable incident in which South Pasadena high school students used caustic chemicals to etch their town's name into the front lawn of Alhambra High School.

Education

Alhambra is home to the University of Southern California's Health Sciences Alhambra campus, site of the university's Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) and USC's master's degree program in public health.

Alhambra is served by Alhambra Unified School District, which includes Alhambra High School.

Famous Natives/Residents

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 85,804 people, 29,111 households, and 20,668 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,347.7/km² (11,257.3/mi²). There were 30,069 housing units at an average density of 1,523.6/km² (3,945.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 30.02% White, 1.67% Black or African American, 0.72% Native American, 47.22% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 16.25% from other races, and 4.01% from two or more races. 35.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 29,111 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,213, and the median income for a family was $43,245. Males had a median income of $33,847 versus $29,122 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,350. About 11.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

External links

Alhambra's official website

Cities in Los Angeles County