M
inutes from downtown San Diego, Balboa Park is a San Diego must-
see and was recently ranked as one of the Best Parks in the World by the Project for Public Spaces. Balboa Park is home to 15 major museums, several performing arts venues, more than eight beautiful gardens and many other cultural and recreational attractions, including the San Diego Zoo. With a host of cultural institutions laid out among its 1,200 lushly planted acres, Balboa Park is the USA’s largest urban cultural park. Te stunning architecture in the
Park is the legacy of two Expositions. Te 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal and provided a major impetus for the creation of the Park as it appears today. Most of the arts organizations along Balboa Park’s famous El Prado pedestrian walkway are housed in Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings constructed for the 1915 Exposition. It was the first time that this highly ornamented, flamboyant architectural style had ever been used in the United States. Also, the extensive landscaping that the 1915 Exposition brought to the Park has earned it the moniker, the “Garden Fair.” Te 1935-36 California Pacific
International Exposition, held to boost the local economy during the depression, added other structures and landscaping. Many of the buildings around the Pan American Plaza at the southern end of the Park were created for the 1935 Exposition and present a fascinating architectural history of the Southwest. Kate Sessions was the early designer
of the Park’s beautiful landscaping. She is known locally as “the mother of Balboa Park” and was a vital force for the Park’s horticulture with her
SAN DIEGO’S BALBOA (clockwise from left), House of Hospitality and Visitor Centre, Botanical Garden Flower, Air and Space Spirit of St Louis, and the Botanical Building
Richard Benton Photo
many plantings and her popularization of several species, notably the bird of paradise, queen palm and poinsettia. Many museums feature exhibitions
that are perfect for all ages, ranging from dinosaurs and fossils to hands-on science fun to Egyptian mummies; and trains, airplanes, and automobiles.
Some notable museums and performing arts venues include:
Mingei International Museum Dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of art of people (mingei) from all cultures of the world featuring dynamic, changing exhibitions of traditional and contemporary folk art, craſt, and design.
Museum of Photographic Arts One of the few institutions in the country devoted to the photographic arts representing the entire history of photography, its aesthetic movements, and technological advancements.
San Diego History Center Museum features the region’s unique, colorful history exhibiting artifacts, costumes, textiles, art, furniture and photographs detailing life and development of the local area.
SNOWBIRDS & RV TRAVELERS 39
Richard Benton Photo
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