Kumeyaay village and native Californian/Bajeño neighborhood Before the establishment of the park, the area was home to a
Kumeyaay village informally known as Hatam's Village (or Hata'am) in Florida Canyon just south of what is now
Naval Medical Center San Diego. Its existence survived the 1852 effort to remove Kumeyaay villages within half a mile of the city. The village was kept active under Jośe Manuel Polton, also known as Hatam, who transformed the village into an urban Native American neighborhood for urbanized
Native Californians and Baja Californians in San Diego seeking jobs. The neighborhood lasted into the 1890s through the advocacy of Hatam and his successor, Juan Gonzales before it was dismantled and became Balboa Park.
Land reserved plaque for Balboa Park Spain and later Mexico made a practice of setting aside large tracts of land for the common use of citizens. In 1835, the
Alta California authorities set aside a tract of
pueblo land in San Diego to be used for the public's recreational purposes. This land included the site of present-day Balboa Park, making it one of the oldest places in the United States dedicated to public recreational usage. No further activity took place until 1845 when a survey was done by
Henry D. Fitch to map the 47,000 acres. On February 15, 1868, the city's Board of Trustees was asked to create a public park out of two plots of land just northeast of the growing urban center of "New Town"—present-day
Downtown San Diego. The request was made by one of the Trustees,
E. W. Morse, who had picked the site in coordination with real estate developer
Alonzo Horton. Then in 1870, a new law called the "Act to Insure the Permanency of the Park Reservation", was passed by the state legislature, which said, "These lands (lots by number) are to be held in trust forever by the municipal authorities of said city for the purpose of a park". It was around this time that San Diego residents were developing a fondness for the park, as illustrated by their insistence on keeping the park intact when in 1871 there was an attempt to overturn the state law to allow for the private purchase of some of the park land. A San Diego resident learned of the plan and informed higher powers at the state level in
Sacramento, California. The conspiracy was leaked to the press, exposing the city officials involved. A public safety committee was formed and collected signatures supporting the current existence of the park. Their plea was successful and the bill was killed in the legislature. San Diego was the second city in the U.S. to dedicate a large park after New York City's 1858 establishment of
Central Park.
A City Park: 1872–1909 For the first few decades of its existence, "City Park" remained mostly open space. The land, lacking trees and covered in native wildflowers, was home to bobcats, rattlesnakes, coyotes, and other wildlife. 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 until 1902. Nevertheless, some buildings were constructed, including an orphanage and
women's shelter (later burned down), and several gardens maintained by various private groups. One of the most celebrated of these early usages was a 36-acre
nursery owned and maintained by local horticulturist and botanist Kate Sessions, who is often referred to as "the mother of Balboa Park." 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. Sessions is responsible for bringing in many of the different varieties of native and exotic plants in the park. Her work was so progressive that she was in fact the first woman awarded the
Meyer Medal for "foreign plant importation" by the
American Genetic Association. Other developments from this time include two reservoirs, an animal pound in Pound Canyon (later renamed Cabrillo Canyon), and a
gunpowder magazine in the area now known as Florida Canyon. The earliest recreational developments in the park were in the "Golden Hill Park" area off 25th Street. The National Register-listed the rustic stone fountain designed by architect Henry Lord Gay as the oldest surviving designed feature in the park. Other attractions in the area included a children's park, walking trails, and a redwood bird
aviary.
Indigenous Californians and Bajenos began to flock to the Kumeyaay village in Florida Canyon looking for work in San Diego during this period. A Native Californian urban exclave was built up in the canyon, which lasted up until the 1900s when the neighborhood was torn down in preparation for the Panama–California Exposition. He later explained the significance of holding the expo in San Diego: It has been long debated as to how Balboa Park’s name changed from City Park to Balboa Park. The most popular theory states that in order to prepare for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, city officials held a contest for a name change in 1910 with the name “Balboa” becoming the reigning champion. The second theory made by Nancy Carol Carter, historian and former director of the Legal Research Center at USD states that this theory is false. Through her research, she discovered that the naming of the park was a four month long effort from the parks commissioners. In October 1910 during a meeting, the commissioners decided on the name Balboa. San Diego would be the smallest city to ever hold a World's Fair; its population at the time was less than 40,000. A similar fair, the 1915
Panama–Pacific International Exposition, was also planned in "far to the north" San Francisco to celebrate the canal opening. Although $5 million had been set aside by Congress for celebrations of the Panama Canal opening, the majority of the funds went to the San Francisco expo. In anticipation of the exposition, many of San Diego's business and city leaders began to develop separate plans for the park.
John D. Spreckels, owner of the
San Diego Electric Railway, wanted to shift the location of the main public plaza to add room for exhibitors — and to allow his streetcar system to traverse the park and extend to the
North Park and
University Heights neighborhoods. The Exposition's lead designer and site planner was architect
Bertram Goodhue, well known for his
Gothic Revival style churches in New York and Boston, who sought a regionally appropriate aesthetic to use in
Southern California. Goodhue and associate architect
Carleton Winslow chose to use the styles of highly ornamented
Spanish Baroque architecture with the
Spanish Colonial architecture created during the
Spanish colonization era in New Spain-Mexico and the lower Americas, with
Churrigueresque and
Plateresque detailing "updating" the already popular Mission Revival style—to create the
Spanish Colonial Revival style. Yellow and red were the themed colors of the event and were displayed throughout. All of the employees, workers, security people, and management staff were dressed in period Spanish and Mexican military uniforms and much of the park was filled with plantings of
exotic plants. Over 40,000 red
Poinsettia plants, all in full bloom, were used. The event attracted the national attention organizers had sought. Even Pennsylvania's
Liberty Bell made a brief three-day appearance in November 1915. The event was such a success the fair was extended through 1916. Over the two years, it drew more than 3.7 million visitors, including
Henry Ford,
William Jennings Bryan,
Thomas Edison,
Theodore Roosevelt, and
William Howard Taft. The expo actually turned a slight profit, Roosevelt, approving of the buildings' architecture, recommended that the "buildings of rare phenomenal taste and beauty" be left as permanent additions. The majority of the buildings were only supposed to remain standing through 1916 and were not constructed with long-lasting materials. When the expo ended, several city discussions were held to determine what to do with the buildings. Goodhue recommended demolishing the buildings, saying "They are now crumbling, disintegrating and altogether unlovely structures, structures that lack any of the venerability of age and present only its pathos, and the space they occupy could readily be made into one of the most beautiful public gardens in the New World." Some of the buildings and infrastructure constructed for the Panama–California Exposition that still exist include: •
Cabrillo Bridge (completed April 12, 1914) • California State Building and Quadrangle (completed October 2, 1914 – now the
Museum of Us) • Administration Building (completed March 1912 – now: offices of the Museum of Us) •
Botanical Building • California Bell Tower (completed 1914) • New Mexico Building (now: Balboa Park Club) •
Spreckels Organ Pavilion (dedicated December 31, 1914)
California Pacific International Exposition: 1935–1936 Balboa Park's second big event, the
California Pacific International Exposition, came in 1935. This Exposition was intended to promote the city and remedy San Diego's
Great Depression ills. Balboa Park was reconfigured by San Diego architect
Richard S. Requa, who also oversaw the design and construction of many new buildings, some to be permanent. Facilities added at that time and still in use include the
Old Globe Theatre, the International Cottages, and the Spanish Village. The 1935 Exposition left behind colorful stories of its exhibits and entertainments. The
Gold Gulch was a forerunner of the many "frontier town" themed areas of later amusement parks. The controversial
Zoro Garden Nudist Colony, "Midget Village", and sideshow entertainments including fan dancer
Sally Rand added to the lore. The Exposition also provided visitors with early glimpses of 'Alpha', a walking silver robot; and a strange new electrical device called a "television". Like the first exposition, the 1935 Fair was so successful it was extended for a second year. Opening ceremonies for the second season began when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a gold
telegraph key in the White House to turn on the exposition's lights. He later visited the exposition; other notable guests included
Herbert Hoover,
Mae West, and
Jack Dempsey. the 1935–1936 event counted 6.7 million visitors—almost double the total of the 1915–16 exposition. At the conclusion of the expo, San Diegans voted again on what to do with the park and its buildings. Banker Joseph Sefton Jr. called for the buildings' removal, "They are hideous and badly placed. Had we torn out the 1915 exposition buildings and landscaped the park we would have a beautiful place there now and not a long row of ramshackle firetraps."
World wars During both the Great War and World War II, the park was handed over to the
Department of the Navy to be used as a barracks and training ground and was an extension of
Naval Medical Center San Diego. By 1917, after $30,000 in repairs and modifications were made to the original buildings, over 5,000 U.S. troops were using the park for training. It remained in place until 1921, when a more permanent base was established in
Dutch Flats, itself a predecessor of
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Under the conditions of usage, upon closing, the Marine Corps returned the buildings they had used in the exact condition that they had received them. Although some buildings were scheduled to be demolished due to disrepair, several San Diego groups organized to ensure the buildings were kept. Donated funds allowed for improvements to the buildings' integrity and interiors. During World War II, the park was renamed
Camp Kidd, after
Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd. Buildings within the park were used for multiple purposes, including hospital wards, training facilities, and
barracks. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor, many of the wounded were transported to Camp Kidd's hospital wards. In 1948, the funds were used to restore seven buildings that were deemed unsafe.
Post-war 20th century opened in 1965. A new addition to the park during the post-war 1940s was the
carillon in the
California Tower (1946), which chimes the time every quarter-hour. The San Diego Junior Theater, a program of the Old Globe Theatre, was established in 1948, performing in the Prado Theatre. The amphitheater formerly known as the Ford Bowl became the
Starlight Bowl, home of the Starlight Musical Theater (also known as the San Diego Civic Light Opera and as Starlight Opera), which performed Broadway musicals outdoors in the summer. The initial review called for 13 of the original 1915 buildings to remain while replacing 11 others with new buildings in their place. The plan also called for adjusted roadways, additional landscaping, and improvements in parking. By 1967, the city and private charities such as the Committee of 100 undertook a major effort to restore the park's historic buildings. Most of the original Exposition buildings were continuing to deteriorate with some lacking foundations and minimal structural support. By the 1990s some of the Prado buildings were deteriorating so badly that "pieces of plaster regularly fell off the walls." Several crumbling buildings were torn down and replaced with permanent structures which were carefully detailed to maintain the original appearance. The Science and Education Building and the Home Economy Building were demolished to make room for the expansion of two new wings for the
Timken Museum of Art. The loss of these two buildings along with the
Casa de Balboa, the
House of Charm, and the
House of Hospitality, resulted in the formation of the independent organization, Committee of One Hundred, to attempt to preserve the exhibition buildings. The Aerospace Museum (now the
San Diego Air & Space Museum) lost over $4 million in exhibits, and was reopened after moving into the old
Ford Building. Queen
Elizabeth II presented at the dedication ceremony for the theatre in 1983. Throughout the 1980s, there were multiple reports throughout Balboa Park of vandalism, murder, rape, arson, and minor petty crimes. The resulting negative publicity during this period inspired
Bruce Springsteen to write a song entitled "Balboa Park" focusing on the unpleasant aspects of the park. One of the Old Globe Theatre's starring actors was stabbed to death in the middle of the day in February 1985. A 36-year-old woman was gang-raped and murdered in the park in June 1986. To counter the increase in crime, city officials expanded police patrols in the park, and many of the individual museums hired security guards. In 1998, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center opened a larger building at its present location. The following year, the Hall of Champions Sports Museum moved to the old Federal Building.
21st century . However, the text is not accurate, and contains elements not in the original
Cyrus Cylinder, such as a general abolition of slavery. By 2001, over 12 million people visited the park each year. The Balboa Park Conservancy, a non-profit group to preserve and promote the park, was proposed in 2009 and was officially launched on September 14, 2010. On the night between August 11 and 12, 2012, the 100-year-old Lily Pond at Balboa Park was vandalized overnight. Officials said the water level in the pond was reduced to 2 inches and a pipe was broken. No fish or turtles were killed, but damage to the pond and surrounding landscaping was estimated at several thousand dollars. There had been reports of a "midnight water gun fight" planned for that night, and a video of such an event was later uploaded to YouTube. In early 2013, work began on repairing the Lily Pond, including removing the fish and plants to temporary homes, draining the pond, and repairing the concrete lining. In addition, plumbing repairs were completed, and 27 new plant platforms were constructed to hold the lilies in place. After the reservoir was filled with water and the fish were re-introduced, the Lily Pond opened once again to the public in late February, 2013. In 2017, the State of California designated Balboa Park as a
California Cultural District, given its central role in the culture of San Diego.
Centennial As the centennial of the 1915 exposition approached, there was talk of a grand year-long celebration "on the scale of the 1915 and 1935 fairs". A nonprofit organization, Balboa Park Celebration Inc., was formed in 2011 to organize the festivities and "reintroduce Balboa Park to the world." However, fundraising faltered and plans failed to materialize. In March 2014 the nonprofit organization disbanded, turning over its records and responsibilities to the city less than a year before the celebrations were supposed to start. Mayor
Kevin Faulconer and City Council President
Todd Gloria, who had been major proponents of a large-scale celebration, expressed disappointment with the group's "lack of significant progress achieving its goals" and said they would work together to "move forward with a more practical and realistic celebration." The 2015 "Celebration" of the Centennial became a grassroots movement with all the Parks's institutions celebrating with special exhibits and events. On Dec. 31 Carol Williams, with special guests, ushered in the year with an evening of music at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. On Saturday, May 9, The Garden Party of the Century invited Garden enthusiasts from throughout the county to come enjoy the park. A floral wagon parade highlighted the event. For the Centennial the Park's Department working together with Friends of Balboa Park created an Adopt-a-Plot program. Throughout the park various volunteer organizations have adopted garden areas and have started a transformation to enhance the park's beauty for the next 100 years. In 2016, the Electriquettes returned to Balboa Park. They had been planned for the Centenniel celebration and several were on display in 1915, but it took until the Spring of 2016 for them to return to be driven on the Prado. They are electric-powered wicker carts which can be rented and driven in the main Prado area of the park. In 2017, it was announced that
San Diego Comic-Con would be opening a museum in the park, displacing the San Diego Hall of Champions, which will move to
Petco Park.
Traffic rerouting and parking changes In August 2010 a proposal was unveiled by then-Mayor
Jerry Sanders and philanthropist
Irwin M. Jacobs to divert traffic away from the central Prado areas of the park, such as the Plaza de Panama in front of the Art Museum and the
California Quadrangle in front of the Museum of Us, and restore the areas to pedestrian use. The plan would provide replacement parking via a two-level parking garage at the site of the current Spreckles Organ Pavilion parking lot. The plan also called for changes in access to the park via the
Cabrillo Bridge. The bridge would become eastbound only so that people could enter the park via the Cabrillo Bridge but could exit only via Park Boulevard. Inbound traffic would be deflected via a new bridge offramp through the current Alcazar Gardens parking lot toward the new parking garage. The Alcazar Gardens parking lot would be for disabled parking only and for loading and unloading of passengers. The new parking garage would house 750–900 cars and would be landscaped on top. In July 2012 the City Council voted to proceed with the Jacobs plan. Construction was due to begin in October 2012 and be completed in time for the park's centennial in 2015. However, the scheduled start of construction was pushed back to February 2013 due to a legal challenge from the Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO). Since the Park's master plan already called for removing the 67-space parking lot from the Plaza de Panama, the city went ahead with that portion of the proposal removing all parking from the plaza and converting it into a pedestrian area with tree planters, seats, and tables. Eventually the courts ruled against the challengers and in 2016 the City Council re-approved the project with its original cost estimate of $45 million now expanded to $79 million. The project will remove all traffic from the Plaza de Panama and the
California Quadrangle, diverting it toward a 3-level underground parking garage with a rooftop garden and 797 paid parking spaces. All other parking in Balboa Park will remain free. The cost of the project will be divided between the city, which plans to use the parking lot as a revenue source, and private philanthropy. The proposed completion date is July 2019. ==Special events==