I had to go to Alhambra to see a man about a horse at the bidding of the original San Gabriel Valley Girl™, the always radiant Ngoc Nguyen. To vote for another Los Angeles neighborhood, vote here. To vote for a Los Angeles County Community, vote here. To vote for more Orange County communites, click here.
Alhambra is on the western edge of the San Gabriel Valley between posh San Marino, trendy South Pasadena, old San Gabriel, blue collar Rosemead, and the most Chinese city in the US, Monterey Park.
The center of Alhambra is the intersection of Garfield and Main, which has functioned as the hub of town at least since 1895.
Garfield and Main, Alhambra, 1890 Garfield and Main, Alhambra, 2007 improved with an Applebees
My favorite historical site, however, isn't really too historical. There's a great shopping center (that used to house a Von's before it was replaced by the Asian 168 Market). It's one of those many, amazing LA simulacra that make what would normally be a boring stripp mall feel like a visit to Disneyland. This shopping center is, much more successfully than the Cerritos Auto Mile, going for a New Orleans French Quarter vibe with a gazebo, faux wrought-iron street lamps and balconies, and a cupola with a liberty bell. And in this beautiful setting, things get pretty third world, just in the Big Easy.
By the 1950s, Garfield and Main was the hippest place in the San Gabriel Valley and was predominantly populated mostly by Italian-Americans. The following decade saw an influx of Latinos from surrounding areas and Anglos moving to other suburbs. In the late 1960s Alhambra was a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War protests and Brown Beret activity. By the mid 1970s tensions rose between the predominantly Anglo "surfers" and cholos. Many Taiwanese began to move to the neighborhood, followed by Chinese from the mainland, Vietnamese, Cambodians and other Asians. Today the population is roughly 47% Asian (mostly Chinese and Vietnamese), 36% Latino (Mostly Mexicans of any race), and 14% white.
I first visited Alhambra to buy a copy of the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet from a Penny Lane managed by Danny Lee, who later came to Amoeba and oversaw the no-longer-existent Hong Kong section (now split between Martial Arts and Asian Cinema).
Alhambra Penny Lane - For Lease
In 2001, the historic Garfield Theater which had exclusively shown Chinese films closed.
Benjamin Wilson looking annoyed with the gum on his right shoulder.
This statue marks the spot where, on weekends, a lot of people come to hang out, break dance and eat. Benjamin Wilson was a fur trader who was trying to go to China. When he moved to the San Gabriel Valley (then part of Mexico) he was denied passage. He ended up becoming a Mexican citizen and bought considerable tracts of land in the area. Supposedly due to his kindness to the indigenous Tongva they nicknamed him "Don Benito" (at least to his face).
MUSIC OF ALHAMBRA
The duo, Going Home, was formed by Hope Sandoval and Sylvia Gomez whilst the two were attending Alhambra's Mark Keppel High School. Malefic (Scott Conner to his parents) is the creative force behind the Alhambra band, Xasthur.
Alhambra's most commercially successful musician, however, is Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins, seen by some as America's Bryan Adams.
ALHAMBRA IN FILM
Wong Fu Productions, an Asian-American filmmaking group, was started by USC students and Alhambra natives Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, and Philip Wang in 2004. It is also the birthplace of actors Duane Allen and Mitch Vogel.
By the 1950s, Garfield and Main was the hippest place in the San Gabriel Valley and was predominantly populated mostly by Italian-Americans. The following decade saw an influx of Latinos from surrounding areas and Anglos moving to other suburbs. In the late 1960s Alhambra was a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War protests and Brown Beret activity. By the mid 1970s tensions rose between the predominantly Anglo "surfers" and cholos. Many Taiwanese began to move to the neighborhood, followed by Chinese from the mainland, Vietnamese, Cambodians and other Asians. Today the population is roughly 47% Asian (mostly Chinese and Vietnamese), 36% Latino (Mostly Mexicans of any race), and 14% white.
I first visited Alhambra to buy a copy of the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet from a Penny Lane managed by Danny Lee, who later came to Amoeba and oversaw the no-longer-existent Hong Kong section (now split between Martial Arts and Asian Cinema).
Alhambra Penny Lane - For Lease
In 2001, the historic Garfield Theater which had exclusively shown Chinese films closed.
The Garfield Theater. Now filled with tiny Chinese stores and one of Alhambra's many Starbucks.
Meanwhile, a few blocks north, you can see mainstream American movies (but sometimes with Chinese subtitles) at the Edwards Cinema. Benjamin Wilson looking annoyed with the gum on his right shoulder.
This statue marks the spot where, on weekends, a lot of people come to hang out, break dance and eat. Benjamin Wilson was a fur trader who was trying to go to China. When he moved to the San Gabriel Valley (then part of Mexico) he was denied passage. He ended up becoming a Mexican citizen and bought considerable tracts of land in the area. Supposedly due to his kindness to the indigenous Tongva they nicknamed him "Don Benito" (at least to his face).
MUSIC OF ALHAMBRA
The duo, Going Home, was formed by Hope Sandoval and Sylvia Gomez whilst the two were attending Alhambra's Mark Keppel High School. Malefic (Scott Conner to his parents) is the creative force behind the Alhambra band, Xasthur.
Alhambra's most commercially successful musician, however, is Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins, seen by some as America's Bryan Adams.
ALHAMBRA IN FILM
Wong Fu Productions, an Asian-American filmmaking group, was started by USC students and Alhambra natives Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, and Philip Wang in 2004. It is also the birthplace of actors Duane Allen and Mitch Vogel.
