Alhambra Health Center then and now (Photos – B&W, 1935: AHC – Color: Joyce Amaro)
In a unanimous vote at their March 25 meeting, Alhambra City Council adopted the proposed community center design Alternative II, “Connecting Gems”.
By Joyce Amaro
Design Alternative II calls for the preservation and adaptive reuse of the northern-most, two-story portion (the most architecturally and historically significant part) of the former Alhambra Health Center.
“This is a huge victory for historic preservation in Alhambra,” stated Christine Olson, President of the Alhambra Historical Society. “We are extremely pleased that Alhambra’s City Council voted to validate their strategic planning goal of preserving Alhambra’s historic resources. We look forward to working with the design team to ensure that the character-defining features of the Alhambra Health Center are retained in the final design of the new community center.”
The Alhambra Health Center, located at 612 West Shorb Street in Alhambra, was built in 1930 and boasts a classic Monterey Colonial Revival architectural style. Due to decades of neglect, the structure is in a state of disrepair. Despite its current condition, the Alhambra Health Center is listed in the California Register of Historical Resources. A 2023 Alhambra Historic Resources Survey Report designated it as one of four Alhambra structures formally determined as being eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
“When it was built by LA County, the Alhambra Health Center was part of a $1 million countywide program to construct satellite health care facilities,” stated Oscar Amaro, President of the Alhambra Preservation Group. “As a then state-of-the-art facility, the Alhambra Health Center provided health services and community resources to San Gabriel Valley residents. Its original name ‘Plaza Community Center’ is still stenciled over a doorway. It is fitting that the original Alhambra Health Center will see new life…again, as a community center.”
The main entrance of the Alhambra Health Center, circa 1935. When the Center is preserved and adaptively reused as Alhambra’s new community center, San Gabriel Valley residents will once again enter these doors to access community services and resources (Photo – AHS)
The new community center will offer 17,000 square feet of event space and is made possible through a $25 million California grant secured by California Assemblymember Mike Fong (D-Alhambra) and state Senator Susan Rubio (D-West Covina) as part of the 2022-23 California state budget. The new Alhambra community center, appropriately named “Connecting Gems” will connect the Alhambra Health Center’s historic past with the future by pairing the original Monterey Colonial Revival architecture with newly-designed structures to the two-story building’s east and northeast.
Shorb Street to the north of the site will be vacated to create more green space that will feature a courtyard and pergola. A pedestrian/bike path will run parallel to Moor Field between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, and a parking lot will be located to the south of the facility.
The Alhambra Community Center project is subject to California Environmental Quality Act requirements and will undergo an environmental impact report (EIR) process, which will begin in the coming months.
The future Alhambra Community Center (Photo – Joyce Amaro)
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