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Balboa Park is a 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) urban cultural park in San Diego, California. Unlike some city parks, such as New York's Central Park, which is mostly free of buildings in favor of open space and recreational fields, Balboa Park is a cultural complex. Besides open areas and natural vegetation, it contains a variety of cultural attractions including museums, theaters, gardens, shops and restaurants as well as the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. Desert garden in the Balboa park, San Diego, United States. ...
Desert garden in the Balboa park, San Diego, United States. ...
Balboa park museum, San Diego, United States. ...
Balboa park museum, San Diego, United States. ...
Botanic building in Balboa park, San Diego, United States. ...
Botanic building in Balboa park, San Diego, United States. ...
San Diego at sunset, 2001 Nickname: Americas Finest City Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: http://www. ...
A Central Park landscape Central Park (40°46′59″N, 73°58′20″W) is a large public, urban park (843 acres or 3. ...
San Diego Zoo Entrance The San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California is one of the largest, most progressive zoos in the world. ...
Many of the park's attractions are along El Prado, a long, wide promenade running through the center of the park. Most of the buildings lining this street are in the Spanish Revival style, a richly ornamented eclectic mixture of Spanish and Latin American architecture. Along this boulevard are many of the park's museums, including the Museum of Man, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and Museum of Fine Art. The Ruben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center is a science museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. ...
Other attractions include the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, which includes the world's largest outdoor pipe organ; The Old Globe theater, a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre; a collection of "international cottages"; and the Botanical Building with its accompanying reflecting pool. William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ...
This article is about the Globe Theatre of Shakespeare, both the original and its modern reconstruction. ...
The park is managed and maintained by the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department.
Balboa Park has been declared a National Historic Landmark. USS Constitution. ...
Among the private institutions within the park's borders not administered by the city's parks department are San Diego High School, a naval hospital and the San Diego Zoo. San Diego Zoo Entrance The San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California is one of the largest, most progressive zoos in the world. ...
History
A resolution to set aside 1400 acres (6 km²) for a city park was approved by the city's Board of Trustees on May 26, 1868. The resolution had been put forth by one of the trustees, E.W. Morse, who along with real estate developer Alonzo Horton had selected a site just northeast of the growing urban center of "Newtown" (now downtown San Diego) for the park's location. May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ...
1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
City Park: 1868-1909 For the first few decades of its existence, "City Park" remained mostly open space. Numerous proposals, some altruistic, some profit-driven, were brought forward for the development and use of the land during this time, but no comprehensive plan for development was adopted.
Nevertheless there was some building done. This included an orphanage and women's shelter (later burned down), a high school (San Diego High School) and several gardens maintained by various private groups. One of the most celebrated of these early developments was a nursery owned and maintained by local horticulturist and botanist Kate Sessions. Although owned by Sessions, by agreement with the city the nursery was open to the public, and Sessions donated trees and plants to the city every year for its beautification. An orphanage is an institution dedicated to caring for orphans (children without living parents). ...
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated, usually for sale as a business, though some gardeners and farmers keep private nurseries. ...
The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ...
Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ...
Other developments from this time include two reservoirs, an animal pound and a gunpowder magazine.
The Panama-California Exposition: 1910-1916 Much of the park's look and feel today is due to the development done for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The Exposition was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, set to open in 1915, and to tout San Diego as the first U.S. port of call for vessels traveling north after passing through the canal. Planning began in 1909 and City Park was soon selected as the exposition site. The Panama-California Exposition was a exposition held in San Diego, California between January 1, 1915 and January 1, 1917. ...
Worlds Fair is the generic name for various large expositions held since the mid 19th century. ...
A canal tug making its way down to the Caribbean end of the canal waits to be joined by a ship in the uppermost chamber of the Gatun Locks. ...
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It was decided that the buildings were to be done in Spanish Mission and Indian Pueblo styles. This was pure romanticism, as the architecture employed at the Exposition was never common in San Diego before. New York architect Bertram Goodhue was chosen as supervisory architect (replacing Irving Gill). Goodhue was fascinated by Spanish Colonial architecture, and took the exposition as an opportunity to create a fantasy city, richly ornamented with influences from throughout Spanish history with Muslim and Persian influences. This was a contrast with most previous expositions, which had been done in Neo-Classical style. Goodhue by Lee Lawrie, holding the Rockefeller Chapel, Chicago, Illinois Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 - April 23, 1924) was a renowned American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. ...
Irving Gill (1870 - 1936) was born in Tully (near Syracuse), New York, USA. He trained as an architect and went on to become well known for architecture in Southern California. ...
Some of the buildings built for the exposition still standing include:
- Administration Building (completed March 1912) (Now holds offices of the Museum of Man)
- Botanical Building
- California State Building and Quadrangle (Completed October 2, 1914) (now part of the Museum of Man)
- Cabrillo Bridge (completed April 12, 1914)
- Spreckels Organ Pavilion (Dedicated December 31, 1914)
- California Bell Tower (completed 1914)
External links - Official Balboa park homepage
- Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
- San Diego Museum of Art
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