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| Cymbidiums abound in Balboa Park's pleasantly shaded plant house |
Land was set aside in 1868 by San Diego civic leaders for what was then called "City Park." The sandy, scrub-covered mesa that overlooked present-day downtown San Diego sat without formal landscaping or development for more than 20 years. It was renamed for Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in honor of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, held in the Park that year. Today Balboa Park's total land parcel is 1,200 acres, and is one of the city's major destinations for locals and tourists.
The 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—it was the first of two major Expositions that created many of
the cultural institutions as well as the stunning architecture in Balboa Park. The San Diego Zoo was established in 1916, the second year of this exposition.
Most of the arts organizations along Balboa Park's famous colonnaded El Prado pedestrian walkway -including a popular restaurant with outdoor seating, The Prado - are housed in Spanish-Renaissance style buildings constructed for the 1915 Exposition. It was one of the first times that this distinctive, flamboyant architectural style had ever been used in the United States. The park features numerous cafes and restaurants for all budgets and tastes.
The Park also features a large lattice-style botanical building and lily pond for exotic plants and the Alcazar Garden set in a fantastical building straight from Arabian Spain, an Art Museum (one of 17 museums and collections) and frequent cultural events. A visitor could easily spend more than one day wandering about.
Balboa Park was declared a National Historic Landmark, and a National Historic Landmark District in 1977.
