 With the persuasion of his daughter, Ruth, Yorba named the land after a book she was reading, Washington Irving's "Tales of the Alhambra", which he was inspired to write by his extended visit to the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain.Alhambra was founded as a suburb of Los Angeles that remained an unincorporated area during the mid-19th century.The first school in Alhambra was Ramona Convent Secondary School, built on hillside property donated by the prominent James de Barth Shorb family.