The Cabrillo Bridge is defined by its seven soaring concrete arches that span the wide Cabrillo Canyon. It was built as a grand entrance for the nineteen fifteen Panama-California Exposition and stands as the first multiple-arched…
Balboa Park Plaza Walk
Take a stroll back in time to the 1915 Exposition along El Prado, marveling at the gorgeous Spanish Colonial architecture, lush gardens, and dramatic reflecting pools.
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1. Cabrillo Bridge
2. Alcázar Garden
Alcazar Garden is identifiable by its formal, symmetrical layout of clipped boxwood hedges and the vibrant presence of turquoise, yellow, and green Moorish-style tiles. These tiles adorn its two central fountains and eight benches,…
3. Museum of Us
The Museum of Us is recognizable by the California Tower, an ornate structure capped with a colorful, tile-covered dome that rises nearly two hundred feet above Balboa Park. Built for the nineteen fifteen Panama-California Exposition to…
4. Plaza de Panama
The Plaza de Panama is a grand, sun-drenched central square defined by its open space and the ornate, Spanish Colonial Revival buildings that form its perimeter. Created for the nineteen fifteen Panama-California Exposition, the plaza…
5. The San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is defined by a heavily ornamented stone façade featuring life-sized statues of Spanish Old Masters, including Velázquez, Murillo, and Zurbarán. Designed by architect William Templeton Johnson and opened in…
6. House of Hospitality
The House of Hospitality is a two-story building defined by its ornate, Spanish-style stucco facade and a prominent corner tower inspired by the Palace of the Count of Monterey in Spain. Originally constructed as the Foreign Arts Building…
7. Botanical Building
The Botanical Building is a long, rectangular structure defined by its intricate lattice of narrow wooden strips known as lath. Designed by architect Carleton M. Winslow for the nineteen fifteen Panama-California Exposition, this redwood…
8. Casa Del Prado
The Casa del Prado is defined by its two massive, blue and yellow tiled domes that rise above an open arcaded court. This Spanish Colonial Baroque structure stands as a reconstruction of the Varied Industries and Food Products Building,…
9. Bea Evenson Fountain
The Bea Evenson Fountain sits in the Plaza de Balboa, occupying the space between the Fleet Science Center and the San Diego Natural History Museum. You can recognize this circular water feature by the way it shoots a column of water high…