Balboa Park’s Botanical Garden

Balboa Park is the Central Park of San Diego; so many beautiful spots to visit. The Botanical Garden is probably the most photographed, and rarely disappoints with its postcard-perfect views of the lily pond/reflecting pool in front of it. The first image here is from 1936, about twenty years after it was first built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Image #2 is from September 1960:



The earliest shot that I took myself, from 1986 when I was visiting San Diego on Spring Break:



If you can’t get to the Park in person, this Faux D© shot from 2012 is the next best thing!




The inside of the building is just as spectacular:



The building is one of the largest wooden lath structures in the world featuring more than 2,100 permanent plants, including collections of cycads, ferns, orchids, other tropical plants and palms.



Final one for today shows the building at its best during the golden hour:



See more San Diego Balboa Park photos at my main website.

View from the Tower

Often it takes a visitor to get you to fully explore the city where you live. Such was the case with the California Tower at Balboa Park which began allowing visitors to climb (almost) to the top over three years ago. Built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, it was one of the few structures that was constructed to last as a permanent building. Shall we begin the journey up?



The first thing of note was the 100-chime electronic carillon that makes the California Tower’s music. I was expecting something much larger and more elaborate, as its melodious sounds carry across the canyons to my house every day.



An innovative way to honor donors:



And the views....wow.



The Globe Theatre complex:



A leftover from the Grinch production at Christmas can be seen on the rooftop:





Like something out of "Vertigo":



What a great experience! I would definitely sign up for this tour again...but would bring my wide angle lens!

See more California Tower photos at my main website.