Old Alvarado District (Union City, California) | neighborhood, historic district

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Old Alvarado (formerly, New Haven) is a former settlement in and former county seat of Alameda County, California, now annexed to Union City. It was located 5 miles (8 km) north-northwest of downtown Newark.
In 1851, Henry C. Smith founded the town of New Haven, named after his father's home town of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1853, the town amalgamated with a nearby town called Alvarado, and became the county of seat of the newly formed Alameda County. Alvarado was named for Juan Alvarado, Mexican Governor of California from 1836 to 1842. The first post office opened in 1853.
On January 13, 1959, Alvarado and Decoto voted to incorporate as the new City of Union City, California.

By locals this area is better known as "Old Alva" Well known for its old Chicano gang known as "Barrio Old Alvarado", & multi racial gang "ABT". Although "ABT" short for "All Brothers Together" resides throughout all of west side Union City & parts of east side Union City the gang is most commonly represented in "Old Alva". This section is very deep with rich brown history and has its own historical museum.
The historic Old Alvarado downtown sits on the west side of Union City on Smith Street and Union City Blvd. and has array of small commercial business, retail shops, eatery’s and locally grown famous Paddy’s Café. The Caesar Chavez Park with its beautiful gazebo and landscaping just adjacent to Paddy’s Cafe creates an inviting, pedestrian-oriented commercial area.

Also along, Smith Street and Watkins Avenue are historical Victorian homes, a small town post office, the Union City Historical Museum, the Union City Chamber of Commerce, and small restaurants to name just a few mixed types of uses. The Loyola Commercial Building takes center stage with its new renovation to keep the quality of the downtown feel and has deep roots in the local community.

Old Alvarado merchants regularly produce events such as the Fall Festival, Friday night Jazz bands, Art shows, and the Farmers Market every weekend all year round.

www.alvaradomerchants.org/


www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ124aPfGfg