An alcázar is a fortress from Spain’s Moorish era; the term means “the fort” in Arabic and is said to have been derived from the Latin castrum. (As you might guess, castrum is also the root of “castle”.) The Alhambra in Granada is Spain’s most famous alcázar. So how did the word come to anoint a Boyle Heights byway? You can thank the committee that in 1897 was entrusted with renaming over 300 streets across Los Angeles. (Duplicates had to be expunged, thoroughfares with multiple names had to be streamlined, etc.) The committee sought to honor the city’s Spanish/Mexican heritage and thus many of the new street names were Spanish (see Estrada Street for more). In the case of Alcazar Street, it was previously called Albany Street. It’s a safe bet that the committee chose the new name because it started with the same two letters as the old one.
Find it on the map:
