A 1910 postcard of a picturesque street with Arts & Crafts-styled homes. This resembles Garfield Avenue in the early 20th-century.

Unknown location showing a family from a 1920 postcard. The numbers on the pront porch has the address "421."

Contractor and Builder A.S. Blackburn's home at 18 N. Cleveland, since renamed Third Street.

A.A. Clapp's home behind the lush foliage at 12 S. Almansor. Mr. Clapp was Alhambra's first City Clerk.

The First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Commonwealth and 2nd. The church is still there.

William Northrup, Alhambra's first City Attorney, lived at this home at 303 South First Street. The photo at left was taken sometime around the turn of the century, approximately 1906. An alternate view of the home can be seen here. Mr. Northrup was also the President of the Bond Mortgage Company, a long-time business housed at 2nd & Main that assisted countless Alhambrans in buying a home. Alhambra’s Northrup Elementary School was named in his honor.

Somewhat appropriately, his former property is now the site of the County Courthouse Building and parking lot.

Harry L. Nye came from Ohio and quickly jumped into the burgeoning real estate business in Southern California operating out of his home at 33 S. Fourth Street. Today the Alhambra High School track field occupies this spot.

Dr. E.W. Minney was another Alhambra realtor living here at 323 W. Main Street.
Another view of the home taken about the same time can be seen in this 1909 birdseye view.

The entire block is now taken up with a 6-story, mixed-use building.

It's quite possible that Dr. Minney operated his realty business out of this small office building. The Valley Realty Company, at the corner of 4th and Main Street, would have been several steps away from his home seen in the previous photo.

A monolithic mixed-use building present-day.

A founding family of Alhambra, William F. and Augusta Behlow came to Alhambra in the late 1880's from San Francisco where they dealt in the fur trade and European furniture import business. Their home at 1205 W. Main Street stood at the corner of Electric Avenue. The Behlows were also related to the Samuel Wuest family; between them, these families owned the entire tract of land from Main Street to Huntington between Marengo and Bushnell.

Alternate views of the home can be seen here and here. The Behlows also built the Moorish mansion on Bushnell and Main before selling it to cigar magnate Hermann Brunner. This home was torn down to make way for "Auto Dealer Row" in the 1960's. Just before the photo at right was taken, Wondries Chevrolet suffered significant damage from a fire.

Another Behlow residence at the southwest corner of Bushnell and Huntington — 1961 W. Huntington Drive. This parcel is within the City of South Pasadena and the home was most likely razed early on as a 1920 commercial building now stands in its place.

And yet ANOTHER realtor, J.B. Knox, lived in this small home on Second Street in 1909. In later years, Mr. Knox opened a loan company at 103 E. Main Street and moved to a much larger home shown below.

By 1912, Mr. Knox was living in this fine Arts & Crafts bungalow located at 916 W. Commonwealth at the corner of then Wilson Avenue (now Atlantic).

Today stands a mini-mall featuring a 7-11, an AutoZone, and Mrs. Lin's Drive-Thru fortune telling and psychic services.

Mrs. E.E. Kidder and her daughter are shown relaxing with a good book on their front porch at 423 N. Goff, now called Monterey Street. Today, an apartment complex occupies the site.

Garfield Grammer School at the corner of Alhambra Road and Garfield Avenue circa 1903.

Farmer H.E. Rose lived in this modest bungalow at 441 S. First Street. At right, apartment/condos today.

Physician Boardman Reid was a prominent Alhambran who lived in this stately home at 310 S. Granada which featured extensive gardens and well-manicured lawns.

The exquisite Tudor-styled Story Park Athletic Clubhouse. This building is fondly remembered by many Alhambrans as a dance hall and recreation center which featured a river rock fireplace. This 1925 Sanborn Map shows the exact location (where the current parking lot now is). The structure was torn down in the mid-1970's to build the current Senior Citizen Center and recently, there were plans to replace this with a 175-unit low income housing building and senior facility.

Elmer E. Bailey was an orchardist, Alhambra City Commissioner as well as the owner of the Southwest Land Company, and lived here with his wife Lillian and son Ellsworth at 215 S. Wilson (now Atlantic).

At right (today) are apartments/ duplexes.

A view of Bushnell Avenue looking north showing the Pasadena foothills circa 1909.

And the next street over — Electric Avenue — but this time looking south from Huntington Drive.

The home of E.E. Wellfare located at 108 S. Gardenia, now more commonly known as Stoneman Avenue. This property no longer exists. In fact, all of the 100-200 S. Stoneman block is now the Mervyn's and Black Angus complex and parking lot which will soon also be razed to build another commercial venture.

The Alhambra Toggery on Main Street was owned by W.E. Mark

The exact address for this 1920 photo is not known, but it is somewhere on Stoneman Avenue according to the inscription on the postcard.

W.Y. Smither who lived at 109 N. Fourth Street was Assistant Manager for the Broadway Department Store in downtown Los Angeles in 1909. Several vintage bungalows were razed to build this massive residential complex.

Edward W. Stanton, owner of a local livery, was the son of Alhambra's first Postmaster H. W. Stanton. E.W., his wife Nancy and their son Chester (seen here playing with the family dog ) lived at 131 N. First Street.

The property is now the site of a City parking lot and apartment complex.

The home of Alhambra pioneer Samuel Wuest at 610 W. Huntington Drive which sat on the corner of Bushnell Avenue.

Today apartments take up the site and the majestic limestone pillars that faced Huntington (and actually were placed along the stretch of Huntington Drive from South Pasadena, Alhambra, and through to San Marino) have been removed. The nearby City of San Marino has preserved some of these historic markers.

Charles W. Winter was an Alhambran horseshoer and blacksmith around the turn of the 20th century (photo at left was taken in 1890). Mr. Winter lived at 24 S. Second Street (right around where the parking structure behind Tony Roma's now is) and had his shop at 4 W. Main Street. By 1911, he has moved to 1315 S. Second Street.

Alhambra's first City Hall at -- . According to the writing on this photo dated January 8, 1946, "The historic structure is going to move again, to become a museum."

We’re unsure as to what happened with the museum idea but, today, there is no ''museum'' in Alhambra that looks like it.

The Alhambra Post-Advocate Building at 47 S. Garfield in the early 1930's. Art Deco had begun to flourish in Alhambra – yet, within thirty years, this building had been torn down.

A 1910 photo of 1008 N. Garfield Avenue when it clearly showed pride of ownership.

At right is the same home today, though it appears to have been converted into multi-units.

Corner of McLean and Stoneman sometime around 1910. Today, a mega-apartment complex occupies the site.

It's not known where this 1912 photo at left was taken, but it may be of the North Champion Street area.

The 300 block of south 3rd Street circa 1910.

You might notice that the house in the center, appears to be that E. A. Routhe at 323 S. 3rd Street. These three homes are still intact today.

315 W. Grand Avenue in 1912. Tending to her roses is most likely Mary Ashton, who lived here with her carpenter husband John.

Today, box apartments stand in place of the Ashton home.

No address shown, but this 1911 photo was most likely taken on either 3rd, 4th, or 5th Street just south of Main Street.
The properties on the north side of Main are at ground level while those on the south are raised up from street.
Note the 2nd floor open sleeping porch, a home feature extremely popular in the early 20th century.

An example of eccentric architectural stylizations circa 1900, the Alexander McLean residence at 414 W. Grand, was designed to resemble a castle with turrets and parapet walls. Another record identifies the residence as the "Tiree Castle."

This Gothic...Victorian...Castle thing apparently drew quite a bit of attention and was featured on postcards. It's also possible that the Alhambra street McLean, was named after Mr. Alexander. More photos here.

Cedar Street looking west circa 1928. The same view at right current day.

Photo taken around 1910 of Cordova Street looking north. The inscriptions read, "Grandpa's house" and "Pasadena Hotel" which, amazingly, can be seen the distance. Today, Cordova Street remains a quiet, tree-lined street and is relatively intact thanks to an active and involved block group committed to the architectural preservation of their neighborhood.

The home of Gail Borden Johnson. Date of photo is 1903 and the Borden residence is listed at 200 S. First Street. Mr. Borden was also related to Milbank Johnson, another prominent Alhambran. Sometime in the late 1930's, this home and the lush gardens that surrounded the property were razed to build the post office shown below.

Additional photos of this home, including interior views can be seen here.

U.S Post Office on Commonwealth Street circa 1940. The City of Alhambra must like the building as it is still there.

The Borden Johnson home (shown just above) was razed to build it.

The View Motel on the outskirts of town taken in the late 1930's.

Note the gentle rolling hills of green grass where, now, apartments stand.

Early Alhambran homebuilders really took their Moorish roots seriously. The elegant home built by the Behlow Family and later, the home of cigar magnate Hermann Brunner stood at 1621 Main Street. In a 1987 interview, family descendant Dorothy Behlow described the effort and craftsmanship involved in building the home, something lost on Alhambra's political establishment when they opted instead to tear down the home for auto dealers.
More photos of this remarkable home here.

At right, the same property now houses Dollar-Rent-a-Car.

A beautiful example of a Swiss Chalet-styled Arts and Crafts building. The Wednesday Afternoon Women's Club was built by Alhambra's own City Building Inspector William Woolpert and was re-located from to 204 S. 2nd Street after growing concern of its proximity to an arroyo. This structure lasted until the late 1980's, when it was bulldozed it to build a parking lot for city employees. This historic structure was even listed on a historic resources survey as a candidate for National Historic Landmark Status.

Recently, it was featured in the book " Bungalow; The Ultimate Arts and Crafts Home" by reknowned author and historian Jane Powell.

More on this beautiful structure here.

The image at left is from a postcard dated October 5, 1906 from ''Sadie'' to her sister Edith in New York. The postcard inscription reads, ''Here is a picture of our home on Stoneman Avenue in Alhambra, CA. With love, Sadie.''
A check of Sanborn maps circa 1907 shows a similar styled home at 707 N. Stoneman Avenue.

At right, an apartment complex occupies 701 through 707 now.

826 N. Stoneman Avenue at about the turn of the century.

Today is a large apartment complex that encompasses 816 through 820. The 800 block ends there.

The caption says "The Wallace Family" and is most likely that of rancher J.C., and his dentist son "W" living at the "6th house ws (westside) of Granada" which according to a turn of the century telephone directory, was 1209 N. Granada. The Wallaces were a prominent early Alhambra family (J.C. was the brother-in-law of Alhambra's founder Benito Wilson). The large front porch pillars indicate that the home was in the Arts and Crafts style and of considerable size.

The Waldo Johnson home. We are still trying to find out where it was located.

The Asian-influenced A.D. Cajal home, which sat at the corner of Fremont and Valley Boulevard.
Despite it being listed as a strong contender as an historic landmark, the structure was bulldozed to make way for a Jack in the Box restaurant.

Although the caption says from "1889" , the style of home suggests that its most likely from just after the turn of the century. In any case, this is the homestead of the Gates Family at 103 N. Electric Avenue.

Multi-unit housing have recently been put in the same location.

The Garfield Apartments located at the corner of Grand and Garfield Avenues. These buildings were managed and owned by the Ruhland family, who lived across the street at 403 N. Garfield.

Remarkably, these buildings still stand in their original condition.

The Johnson Family home at 400 N. Stoneman Avenue around 1910. G.O. and his wife Ella owned a dry goods store.
At right, it still stands although it has been converted into multi-units.

In fact, an entire apartment complex was built behind it and nearly attached to the rear of the home.

When this photo was taken, 2121 Nicholson was in an unincorporated area of Ramona Acres and the home of Thomas Vanecek. Today, this site is now considered within the boundaries of neighboring city Monterey Park and the home is long gone.

Jannard Pharmacy located at 1911 W. Main Street circa 1930.

Today, it is part of Auto Dealer Row although this photo was taken just before this site became vacant.

The Stong residence at 1151 N. Granada around 1920. Stong was a former Wyoming Senator in the late 1800's who relocated to Alhambra at the turn of the century to become a "rancher."

This classy home was razed in 2005 to build a MegaMansion (seen under construction at right).
To see photos of the home's interior just before it was razed,
, click here.

The Ramona Park home of former Alhambra Mayor Norma Yocum located at 1817 S. 4th Street and built by J. Herbert Johnson in 1906. Mr. Johnson was secretary of the South Alhambra Improvement Association in the early 1910's.
Shortly after selling her home, Mrs. Yocum was returning one day wanting to show it to friends, and came upon clouds of dust from a bulldozer only to find that it had just razed the home. She said that she "nearly fainted from grief." Mrs. Yocum describes the home and the wonderful neighborhood in this letter.

Despite being listed as a prime candidate for historic landmark status, the home, which sat on a double-wide lot, was razed to build apartments.

5th Street and Commonwealth Avenue circa 1903 when dirt roads were still the norm.

This home at 403 N. Garfield was owned by the Ruhland family who also owned the Arts and Crafts-styled apartments just south across the street. John Ruhland was an "orchardist."

Today sits a boxey, nondescript commercial building.

The home of real estate broker Seth W. Champion (circa 1908) and who the Alhambra street is named after, sat at 9 N. Almansor Road. The home was destroyed in a fire sometime in the 1970's and today, the First Methodist Church's School occupies this site.

Richard G. Field was a prominent Alhambran and prolific homebuilder having been credited in constructing hundreds of Alhambra's homes -- many in the bungalow style. His home was located at 27 S. Granada Street where today, a parking lot for overstocked vehicles of Bewley Allen Cadillac now is. In later years his address is listed as 221 N. Vega.

At 103 N. Electric Street sat the home of A.B. Gates and his wife Mary. Coincidentally, Mr. Gates was an electrician by trade.

Another Electric Avenue resident, as well as another ''A.B.''... but this time belonging to the Hill family at 808 N. Electric.

Mathew Algie, who hailed from Scotland, was a boarder at this home along with his wife Geneva and son Norman at 45 S. Chapel Street. The home belonged to his mother-in-law Merinda Bartlett and in the 1910 census, he is listed as being an ''orange farmer.''

While there is no ''49 S.'' today, the multi-units at right are at what is most likely the same location.

Robert F. Corey, listed in a turn of the century Alhambra Telephone Directory as being in the ''mining'' business, had his residence at 129 S. 2nd Street and along with his wife Christine, who as president of the Wednesday Afternoon Association, were instrumental in moving the Womens Club house to a safer location -- and almost directly across the street from this home.
Mr. Corey's physician father Frances E., who was also Alhambra's Health Inspector also lived with them.

Today, one of Alhambra High School's modules occupies where this home once stood.

Due to the changing of street names and numbers in Alhambra between 1903 and 1908, retired journalist Major E. A. Routhe lived at either 323 S. 2nd Street or 214 S. Cleveland Avenue. In any case, this is his home circa 1908.

Caleb English was an Alhambra attorney living in this home located at 723 E. Main Street. However, by 1910 a Harriet English, aged 76 years and listed as a widow, is the only person listed at this address. Present day at right is a mini-mall containing a Hollywood Video, a Smart and Final, and miscellaneous fast-food joints.

This finely-crafted home featuring a river rock front porch, belonged to H.I Hanscome, ''agent'' for the ''Steam Railroad'' and was located at 225 S. Garfield Avenue. Today, this entire block is devoid of homes and is now a commercial strip where the back end and parking lot of the post office now is.

J. B. Hoover, a retired farmer, lived at 775 S. Wilson (now Atlantic) with his wife Freda (20 years his junior) and were proprietors of The Hotel San Diego at 920 W. El Monte Road — now known as Valley Blvd. Their large property stood just south of Mission Road which is currently occupied by a row of commercial stores including "Munchi Tobacco" and a laundromat.

This beautiful home, which is obscured by the lush landscaping, belonged to attorney and State Senator E. S. Ives located at 1503 S. Marguerita Avenue. The apartments at right, is what now occupies what would be 1503 (1504 is directly across the street although this pink building shows an address of 1414.

Dr. J.M. Ford, is listed in 1912 as being ''retired'' and lived at this stately residence at 306 S. Wilson (now Atlantic). Roll mouse over image for an alternate view.

Present day: Not content with having an 8-block long auto strip, self-proclaimed King of Alhambra Bob "I-Own-This-Town" Wondries managed to take over another block on south Atlantic right where this elegant home once stood.

The Jaques family (seen waving on the porch) lived at 100 S. Fourth and photos of the home's interior were also taken which can be seen here. An entire block of these homes were raised to build the high school and a baseball diamond sits in the exact location of the home.

This happy bunch is the Wolff family, Thomas and Kate Wolff, shown with their granddaughter Fay (top left), daughter ''Mrs. Murphy'' (top right) and ''little Darl Ward'' posing in front of their 1712 Pepper Street home on the day of their golden wedding anniversary. At right are what stand current day...apartments.

A view of South First Street looking down from Main Street.
Today, not a home remains as it is now made up of commercial buildings,
a municipal parking lot (soon to be new library), and the Police Department.

The Powell Construction Company built the ''Bonita Building'' at the corner of Primrose and Main Street in 1926 at a cost of $70,000. The photo at left was taken just after its completion. The building still stands today and the little palm trees at left have grown quite a bit.

''Court Lindaraxa'' as shown in this 1914 illustration, was to be a premier development that featured brick pillars and a porte corchere at the Granada Avenue entrance. While only one side of the brick pillars still stand, they are in disrepair.

The caption to this 1903 stereoview postcard only reads ''C.E. Strifler" which, according to census records lived at 143 S. Wilson (now Atlantic) and who owned a considerable amount of land as seen in this 1912 Sanborn map. Mr. Strifler was very active in Alhambra's civic matters, being the Vice-President of the First National Bank (1915-17), the owner of the Alhambra Garage at 101 East Main and, even had a building named after him at the SE corner of Stoneman and Main Street (though no longer in existence).

Today, his home at 143 South Wilson is gone with a group of apartments between 131 and 201 South (seen at right) stand at probably the very same spot.

A very early photo of an Alhambra home. Site unknown although there is a water tower in the background.

The Carmel Monastery on the corner of Alhambra Road around 1930. The same view present day at right shows that the bell tower no longer stands, a likely casualty of Southern California's seismic activity.

And just a couple of blocks west from the monastery was this quaint Craftsman bungalow on the southeast corner of Stoneman and Alhambra Road.

Today, just another apartment complex.