Alhambra
The Alhambra Village area grew primarily when neighborhoods were becoming popular in the late 1940s and early 50s to satisfy the housing needs of a growing population after World War II. Many of these new residents discovered Phoenix when they were stationed at Luke Air Base to the west of town. It is now characterized by small ranch-style homes of the postwar era.
The beautiful Spanish name of "Alhambra" was first used by W.J. Murphy, the builder/developer of the Arizona Canal and the namesake of the Bridle Path, to designate one of four areas of north Phoenix that he sub-divided and later developed with residential homes.
The eastern portion of the village is graced by large homes and the tree-lined historic Murphy Bridle Path which runs alongside Central Avenue, an area that first saw growth in the 1920s and 30s as the wealthy built large estates north of the Phoenix city limits. The central Uptown area boasts the Windsor Square Neighborhood which is the city's only historic district that features homes built in primarily the 1930s through the 50s as well as Uptown Plaza, the first strip shopping center in Phoenix, which was originally built in 1957. The village core focuses around the Christown Spectrum Mall, a shopping center built in the 1960s and originally named after the Chris family who had a farm on this site.
