SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM IN Alhambra

Alhambra

Alhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately 8 miles east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 1903. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,868. Alhambra is promoted as a “city of homes,” and many of its homes have historical significance, including styles such as craftsman, bungalow, Spanish Mediterranean, Spanish colonial revival, Italian beaux-arts, and arts and crafts.

Alhambra’s roots begin with the San Gabriel Mission, founded on September 8, 1771, and the native Tongva people, who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spanish. Laid out in 1874 by Benjamin D. Wilson on land once part of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, it developed as an agricultural community with a unique irrigation system using the first piped water in southern California. A wealthy developer, Benjamin Davis Wilson, married Ramona Yorba, daughter of Bernardo Yorba, who owned the land which would become Alhambra. With the persuasion of his daughter Ruth, who was reading Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, the land was named after the famous Moorish palace in Granada, Spain.

Ruth Wilson was also the mother of General George S. Patton, who grew up in nearby San Marino. The first school in Alhambra was Ramona Convent Secondary School, established in 1890, thirteen years before the city was incorporated. The city’s first public high school, Alhambra High School, was established in 1898, five years before the city’s incorporation.

Alhambra has experienced waves of new immigrants, beginning with Italians in the 1950s, Mexicans in the 1960s, and Chinese in the 1980s. As a result, a very active Chinese business district has developed on Valley Boulevard, including Chinese supermarkets, restaurants, shops, banks, realtors, and medical offices. The Valley Boulevard corridor has become a national hub for many Asian-owned bank headquarters.

The largest racial and ethnic groups in Alhambra are Asian at 50.7%, followed by Hispanic at 34.9% and White at 9%. During 2019–2023, Alhambra had a median household income of $85,189, with 12.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line. The median age is 41.5 years. The most common employment sectors for Alhambra residents are Health Care and Social Assistance, Manufacturing, and Educational Services.

The city is governed by a five-member city council; one member of the council is chosen as mayor. Council members are nominated by district and elected for four-year terms. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and oversees the day-to-day operations of ten City departments, 400 employees, and a $145M budget. The current City Manager, Jessica Binnquist, was appointed in 2018, and in March 2025, the City Council extended her contract until 2031.

Alhambra’s main business district, at the intersection of Main and Garfield, has been a center of commerce since 1895. By the 1950s, it had taken on an upscale look and was “the” place to go in the San Gabriel Valley. Car dealerships are the largest contributor to the local economy, with many car brands found on the Main Street auto row near Atlantic Boulevard. Some famous food establishments started in Alhambra, including The Hat, known for its pastrami, which opened in 1951 and is now a well-known chain in Southern California. Shakey’s Pizza also has its main office in Alhambra.

The historic Garfield Theatre, located at Valley Boulevard and Garfield Avenue from 1925 until 2001, was formerly a vaudeville venue and is rumored to have hosted the Gumm Sisters, featuring a very young Judy Garland. Twenty-six single-family residential areas have been designated historic neighborhoods by the city, including the Bean Tract, the Midwick Tract, the Airport Tract, and the Emery Park area. Alhambra is home to the Los Angeles campus of Alliant International University and a University of Southern California Health Sciences campus.

City of Alhambra