Introduction to Alhambra, California
Located eight miles east of Los Angeles, the city of Alhambra sits in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1903, the city was named after "The Tales of the Alhambra" by Washington Irving. Although its early history reflects a heavy Spanish influence, today's Alhambra is comprised of a wide range of ethnic groups and its businesses have strong ties to international commerce. Since the 1970s and 1980s, the city's proximity to the heavily Asian-American Monterey Park has attracted many East Asian immigrants, and present-day Alhambra includes a very active Chinese business district.
Bordering the city of Alhambra is San Gabriel on the east, San Marino and South Pasadena on the north, and Monterey Park on the south. Major freeways include interstate highways 10 and 710. Several quality educational institutions are located nearby, including the California Institute of Technology, California State University at Los Angeles, Pasadena City College, Pasadena College, East Los Angeles College, and slightly further away, UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) and USC (University of Southern California).
Things to do in and around Alhambra:
Alhambra's location affords easy access to numerous beach and mountain resorts, as well as major Southern California attractions including the following:
- Aquarium of the Pacific
- Arboretum of Los Angeles County
- California Science Center/Exposition Park
- Catalina Island
- Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
- Disneyland
- Griffith Observatory
- Griffith Park
- Hollywood Bowl
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Hollywood Wax Museum
- Huntington Library
- Ice House (Comedy Club)
- Knott's Berry Farm
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles Convention Center
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Los Angeles Zoo
- Magic Mountain
- NBC Studio Tour
- Norton Simon Museum
- Pacific-Asia Museum
- Paramount Film and TV Studio
- Pasadena Civic Auditorium
- Pasadena Playhouse
- Queen Mary
- San Gabriel Mission
- Santa Anita Race Track
- Universal Studios
- Warner Bros. Studios
Some of the local attractions within the city limits of Alhambra include: the Burke Heritage Park, Alhambra Historical Museum, and Shorb Garden. Alhambra is also host (jointly with the city of San Gabriel) to the annual San Gabriel Valley Lunar New Year Parade & Festival, which celebrates the Chinese New Year.
A sports landmark located in the adjacent city of Pasadena (about 4 miles away) is the Rose Bowl Stadium, best-known for its hosting of the annual Rose Bowl, the oldest and most famous of all the post-season college football bowl games. The stadium has also hosted the NFL Super Bowl five times, as well as the FIFA (soccer) World Cup finals for both men and women. Other notable sports stadiums located within easy driving distance to Alhambra are: Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Los Angeles Forum, and the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Teams that play nearby include Major League Baseball's LA Dodgers, the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, and hockey's LA Kings (NHL). Lacrosse fans can enjoy games played by the Los Angeles Riptide, and soccer fans can see LA Galaxy games. Fans of collegiate football can take in games played by the nearby USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins.