FLASH FROM THE PAST

In 1854, Benjamin Wilson purchased a 128-acre ranch that had been part of a Spanish land grant. By 1873, the first residence was built within what is now Alhambra city limits. Wilson decided to call this part of his ranch the Alhambra Tract because his two daughters, Ruth and Maria, had been reading Washington Irving’s popular novel, “Tales of the Alhambra,” which was set in Moorish Spain. The first streets of the area were named after characters in the novel: Granada, Boabdil, Vega and Almansor.