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A Walk on the Exposition Side
A Weekend of Centennial Tours, Lectures, & Receptions
Saturday & Sunday · March 28 & 29, 2015
Led by historians, architects, cultural landscape professionals and scholars, the opening centennial lecture and tour series addresses the historic buildings and landscape legacies of the Panama California Exposition.
Lectures are open seating; please note, however, that tours are limited in number of attendees to assure quality. So sign up fast!
March 28
Tours · Purchase Online
NOTE: Each tour meets at a different location
The Romance of the Expo: Courtyards, Tiles & Fountains - $15
10am & 2pm · Meets in the California Quadrangle (In front of the Museum of Man)
Through visionary architecture and landscape, Bertram G. Goodhue and the other designers of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition created an exuberant fantasy world of time and place inspired by San Diego's Spanish and Mexican heritage. The resulting memorable effect would lure visitors from across the country while putting San Diego on the map. One hundred years later, due to historic preservationists and concerned citizens, Balboa Park contains one of the nation's largest concentrations of eclectic, Spanish Colonial Era-inspired buildings, gardens and public spaces. The everlastingly beautiful People's Park, as it became known, continues to attract tourists from around the globe who come to marvel at its year-round splendor.
The predominantly Spanish Revival architectural theme of Balboa Park is enhanced by countless decorative and historic details, including romantic courtyards, tranquil fountains, and opulent tile. While many of these features are original to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition more were added for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition and during the following decades to commemorate people and special events important to park and city history. The Romantic Courtyards, Fountains and Tiles of the Exposition walking tour will take you to many of these intriguing and alluring sites, beginning at the centrally located Plaza de Panama and looping around to end at the Moorish-influenced Alcazar Gardens. Come learn from SOHO's experts about the unique and often surprising histories of these "sparkling little gems" that together make up San Diego's celebrated "crown jewel."
Balboa Park: Hidden in Plain Sight - $15
10am & 2pm · Meets at west side of Cabrillo Bridge in Sefton Plaza
The architectural grandeur and natural beauty of Balboa Park is enriched by countless hidden historical details including unique structures, landscape features, monuments and plaques, public art, and heritage plants and trees. See Balboa Park like you have never seen it before on SOHO's Hidden in Plain Sight walking tour, highlighting some of these fascinating but often over-looked spaces and features. Even a regular visitor to the park will be guaranteed to discover and learn many new interesting things on this casual one and a half hour trek.
A collaborative effort, Hidden in Plain Sight is based upon the countless collective hours, years and decades of intrepid exploration of Balboa Park by present and past SOHO board members. In honor of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition Centennial, our resident experts have generously agreed to share some of their intimate insider knowledge and favorite secret places. The tour, bringing attention to some lesser-known and underappreciated aspects of Balboa Park including those objects "hidden in plain sight," also aims to increase public awareness of the pressing historic preservation issues currently affecting this precious public resource.
They Slept Here: The Movers, Shakers, & Designers of Balboa Park Trolley Tour - $25
10am & 2pm · Meets at the Marston House, 3525 Seventh Avenue, 92103
This trolley tour explores the neighborhoods west of the park looking at the homes of various people involved with the Exposition, including architect Carleton M. Winslow, Sr., and director of works Frank P. Allen, as well as zoo founder Dr. Harry Wegeforth, and San Diego mayors. "These were important people," Hazard said. "These are the guys who put the first half of 20th-century San Diego on the map. Their homes range from modest workers cottages to grand, with some in need of TLC to restore them to their rightful place in San Diego history."
Purchase All Tour Tickets Online
Lectures - Purchase Online
Individual Lectures $15 each
Lecture Four Pack $50 for all 4
Talks are 45 minutes followed by Q&A (includes reception)
Veteran Museum & Memorial Center · 2115 Park Blvd in Balboa Park
Read bios of all weekend lecturers HERE
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Michael Kelly
5pm
The Story of the Panama-California Exposition
The 1915 Panama-California Exposition was a daring undertaking for a city of 40,000 people and it would forever change Balboa Park and greater San Diego. (Followed by Q&A) |
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David Marshall, AIA
7pm
A Postcard Tour of Balboa Park's 1915 Exposition
Preservation architect and author David Marshall will present a tour of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition incorporating historic postcards from his private collection. David will also show highlights from SOHO's Souvenirs & Keepsakes exhibition which features memorabilia from both the 1915 and 1935 expositions. (Followed by Q&A) |
Purchase Lecture Tickets Online
March 29
Tours · Purchase Online
NOTE: Each tour meets at a different location
The Romance of the Expo: Courtyards, Tiles & Fountains - $15
10am & 2pm · Meets in the California Quadrangle (In front of the Museum of Man)
Through visionary architecture and landscape, Bertram G. Goodhue and the other designers of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition created an exuberant fantasy world of time and place inspired by San Diego's Spanish and Mexican heritage. The resulting memorable effect would lure visitors from across the country while putting San Diego on the map. One hundred years later, due to historic preservationists and concerned citizens, Balboa Park contains one of the nation's largest concentrations of eclectic, Spanish Colonial Era-inspired buildings, gardens and public spaces. The everlastingly beautiful People's Park, as it became known, continues to attract tourists from around the globe who come to marvel at its year-round splendor.
The predominantly Spanish Revival architectural theme of Balboa Park is enhanced by countless decorative and historic details, including romantic courtyards, tranquil fountains, and opulent tile. While many of these features are original to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition more were added for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition and during the following decades to commemorate people and special events important to park and city history. The Romantic Courtyards, Fountains and Tiles of the Exposition walking tour will take you to many of these intriguing and alluring sites, beginning at the centrally located Plaza de Panama and looping around to end at the Moorish-influenced Alcazar Gardens. Come learn from SOHO's experts about the unique and often surprising histories of these "sparkling little gems" that together make up San Diego's celebrated "crown jewel."
Balboa Park: Hidden in Plain Sight - $15
10am & 2pm · Meets at west side of Cabrillo Bridge in Sefton Plaza
The architectural grandeur and natural beauty of Balboa Park is enriched by countless hidden historical details including unique structures, landscape features, monuments and plaques, public art, and heritage plants and trees. See Balboa Park like you have never seen it before on SOHO's Hidden in Plain Sight walking tour, highlighting some of these fascinating but often over-looked spaces and features. Even a regular visitor to the park will be guaranteed to discover and learn many new interesting things on this casual one and a half hour trek.
A collaborative effort, Hidden in Plain Sight is based upon the countless collective hours, years and decades of intrepid exploration of Balboa Park by present and past SOHO board members. In honor of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition Centennial, our resident experts have generously agreed to share some of their intimate insider knowledge and favorite secret places. The tour, bringing attention to some lesser-known and underappreciated aspects of Balboa Park including those objects "hidden in plain sight," also aims to increase public awareness of the pressing historic preservation issues currently affecting this precious public resource.
They Slept Here: The Movers, Shakers, & Designers of Balboa Park Trolley Tour - $25
10am & 2pm · Meets at the Marston House, 3525 Seventh Avenue, 92103
This trolley tour explores the neighborhoods west of the park looking at the homes of various people involved with the Exposition, including architect Carleton M. Winslow, Sr., and director of works Frank P. Allen, as well as zoo founder Dr. Harry Wegeforth, and San Diego mayors. "These were important people," Hazard said. "These are the guys who put the first half of 20th-century San Diego on the map. Their homes range from modest workers cottages to grand, with some in need of TLC to restore them to their rightful place in San Diego history."
Purchase All Tour Tickets Online
Lectures - Purchase Online
Individual Lectures $15 each
Lecture Four Pack $50 for all 4
Talks are 45 minutes followed by Q&A (includes reception)
Veteran Museum & Memorial Center · 2115 Park Blvd in Balboa Park
Read bios of all weekend lecturers HERE
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Vonn Marie May
5pm
A Celebration of Landscape Design
& Botanical Promotion
Agriculture, floriculture and horticulture all came together at the 1915 Panama California Exposition. The Botanical Building, as envisioned by floriculturist A. D. Robinson, designed by Carleton Winslow, was the central feature of the "Garden Fair." An extensive showcase of exotic horticulture, agricultural exhibits and displays of "floral wealth" came from the combined efforts of landscape architect Paul Thiene, and Parks Superintendent John Morley, which signaled the future of botanical commerce in San Diego. (Followed by Q&A) |
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M. Wayne Donaldson, FAIA
7pm
The Architecture of the Exposition Buildings, 1914
"It was not believed that the temporary buildings should be other than temporary, for it must be remembered that Exposition Architecture differs from that of our everyday world in being essentially of the fabric of a dream - not to endure but to produce a merely temporary effect. It should provide, after the fashion that stage scenery provides - illusion rather than reality. So it must be confessed that such Architecture comes very close in certain directions to being actually stage scenery." Join Wayne Donaldson as he discusses the manipulative promoters, the clever politicians, the jealous architects, the illusionary designers, the interpretive marketing of the 1914 Panama-California Exposition and its effect on the architectural future of the of San Diego, the Magic City. (Followed by Q&A) |
Purchase Lecture Tickets Online
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TOURS & EVENTS
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