Hello! Welcome to "Travel With Suri" In 2003 this iconic park in San Diego
was ranked as one of the best parks in the world.
The initial name of the park was "City Park"
San Diego was said to play host to the 1915 panama and california exposition
and "City Park" was less than memorable name for such an
internationally prestigious event. After months of discussion,
the park commissioners decided on the current name -
Welcome to the famous "Balboa Park" San Diego - California
The park's name was chosen in honor of spanish-born
"Vasco Nuñez de Balboa", the first European to spot the pacific ocean while
on exploration in Panama!
I was in San Diego from 2005 to 2008. When i first moved to San Diego, I was
only familiar with the things San Diego was well known for the famous
San Diego Zoo, Sea World and the amazing weather.
I never heard of Balboa Park and when the local first told me about it
I did not think much about it. With more than 1200 acres,
Balboa Park is much much bigger than the famous
NYC's Central Park, whether you are an expert or just
curious, you can find many different architectural styles
throughout balboa park.
Walking along El Prado look up to see caryatids,
or weight-bearing features called as human figures,
it appears these figures are using their arms to hold up the building's eaves.
In reality concealed beams projecting from the walls do the heavy lifting.
Balboa Park is a gorgeous area with gardens,
walking paths, museums and of course its world famous zoo.
A fun fact: During world war 2, all other plans for the park were dropped,
the buildings and grounds were renamed and used for
training, living quarters,a hospital etc.
The statue of "El Cid" recalling a medieval hero of the
11th century was created by Anna Hyatt Huntington,
and is located at the entrance to the Plaza de Panama.
When you walk into the Japanese Garden, there is a small booth where you pay the
entrance fee. From the outside, I couldn't see how
large the garden was. So I was not sure how long I would be
exploring. As soon as you enter the gardens, you
really feel like you are in Japan.
The Spreckel's Organ Pavilion was designed by the Los Angeles architect
Harrison Albright.
The pavilion has an italian renaissance style featuring semi-circular colonnades
and intricate leaf cluster and shell designs.
In Shakespeare's days, his plays were performed at the ground
and open air Globe theater in London. Theaters around the world
including San Diego's old Globe theatre have sought to replicate the building
and capture the spirit of the original theater.
The California building, home to the San Diego "Museum of Man"
is mentioned more than any other San Diego structure in
architecture books. The hybrid design creates a totally unique building.
More spanish style design can be found at the Alcazar garden.
This balboa park garden is based on the moorish style grounds of the Alcazar
castle in Seville, Spain.
Providing a rich and diverse cultural experience
the San Diego "Museum of Art" houses the world's finest art in America's finest City.
Located in the heart of balboa park, the museum's
nationally renowned collections include Spanish and
Italian old masters, south Asian paintings.
The botanical building is a must-see place in
balboa park, the large lath structure and beautiful lily pond really stood
out. It is a gorgeous area with playful ducks
swimming in the pond and lagoon.
The view of the botanical building with a lily pond and lagoon in the foreground
is one of the most photographed scenes in balboa park,
and a must-see destination in san diego. The botanical building plantings include
more than 200 permanent plants featuring fascinating collections of
cycads, furns, orchids, other tropical plants and
ponds. The botanical building also presents
some of the park's vibrant seasonal flower displays.
This botanical building was constructed for the 1915 exposition
made with large or thin narrow strips of straight drained wood.
This is one of the largest lath structures in the world.
and this is world famous San Diego Zoo!
Can you believe balboa park has 17 world-class museums?
From local san diego history to the history of flights,
trains or automobiles and the cars, crafts and culture of people near and far
recent and historical.
Stroll over to the beautiful and colorful Spanish Village Art Center!
This is just a walkable distance from the famous san diego zoo.
I have a separate youtube video only talking about this stunning place.
This stunning rose garden displays 1600 roses of more than
130 varieties on a three acre site, full of fragrance, color and beauty. The
garden is in bloom from March through December with
the roses usually at their peak in April and May.
This garden is recognized as outstanding by several renowned organizations,
named an outstanding rose garden in the US by all America rose selections in1978.
This historic cactus garden was
developed under the direction of Kate sessions for the 1935 california pacific
international expositions. It contains some of the largest cactus
and succulent specimens in the park and has also been developed to include the
exotic african and Australian protea
plants.
This is a palm canyon trial. Palm canyon is a tropical oasis containing more
than 450 palms within its two acres A true hidden gem in balboa park. The
winding paths take the visitors into a shady, lush green.
Some of the palm trees dated back to 1912
that is more than 100 years old.
The garden also features a picturesque wooden footbridge
leading from the Alcazar gardens parking lot to across the street from the Spreckles Orgon Pavilion.
I would highly recommend going to Balboa Park if you are nearby San Diego area.
It is really worth. I hope you all liked my video.
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THANK YOU so much for watching!