San Diego Balboa Park History Tour

Discover Balboa Park’s fascinating history, from its origins as a city park in 1868 to its transformation for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Learn about its iconic architecture, cultural institutions, gardens, and its role in shaping San Diego’s identity. Uncover stories of preservation, innovation, and community efforts that made it a cultural hub. Highlights include historic museums, the stunning Spanish Colonial Revival style, and the park’s evolution into a world-renowned destination. This is the ultimate tour of Balboa Park that you will never forget!

Meeting Point

Balboa Park Administration

2125 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

We will meet at the old Balboa Naval Hospital now the Balboa Park Administration building. There is plenty of parking.

What's included:

• Bottle water.

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

Start tour at old Balboa Naval hospital est. 1925. Site of the 1915 Panama California Exposition.

Pass by without stopping

Comic-con Museum

2131 Pan American Plz, San Diego, 92101-1683, California

Est. in 2021. Comic-Con started in 1970. The oldest and largest comic book convention in the world.

Pass by without stopping

San Diego Air & Space Museum

2001 Pan American Plz, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1636, California

Ford Building built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. Has the only replica of the "Spirit of St. Louis" airplane used to fly across the Atlantic by Charles Lindberg.

Pass by without stopping

San Diego Automotive Museum

2080 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1636, California

Est. 1935. The San Diego Automotive Museum has a collection that includes trend-setting cars like the iconic DeLorean, international motorcycles, rare memorabilia as well as videos that put the automotive experience and evolution into a cultural perspective.

Pass by without stopping

House of Pacific Relations International Cottages

2125 Park Blvd, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-4753, California

Housed in historic 1935 Exposition cottages, 34 groups promote multicultural goodwill and understanding through educational and cultural programs from different countries around the world..

Pass by without stopping

Spreckels Organ Pavilion

1549 El Prado, Suite 10, San Diego, 92101-1660, California

Built by John Spreckels for 1915 Panama California Expo. Largest outdoor organ in the world.

10 minutes

Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum

2215 Pan American Road E, San Diego, 92101-1656, California

Est. 1914. The garden includes meticulous stone designs, calming koi ponds, delightful water features, traditional architectural structures and breathtaking vistas.

Pass by without stopping

Alcazar Garden

El Prado at Park Boulevard, , San Diego, California

Alcazar Garden, named because its design is patterned after the gardens of Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain. This formal garden, bordered by boxwood hedges, is planted with 7,000 annuals for a vibrant display of color throughout the year. The garden has been reconstructed to replicate the 1935 design by San Diego architect Richard Requa.

Pass by without stopping

California Tower

1350 El Prado, At the San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, 92101-1616, California

Constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, this beautiful structure is an architectural hybrid of architectural different styles, including Baroque, Plateresque, Churrigueresque, and Rococo, with some Gothic details. Designed by Bertram Goodhue, who included intricate ornamentation, arched arcades, carvings and busts, and colorful tile adorning the tower and domes, the building is reminiscent of the Spanish-Colonial churches in Mexico that inspired him.

5 minutes

Cabrillo Bridge

San Diego, 92101, California

The Cabrillo Bridge, built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, was the first cantilevered, multiple-arched bridge to be built in Southern California. It is nearly 1,500 feet long and nearly 125 feet high. Named after Juan Cabrillo who discovered California in 1542,.

Pass by without stopping

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

Statue of Alonzo Horton, the founder of New Town at Founders Plaza. Also statue Kate Sessions, Mother of Balboa Park. Hear the stories of both San Diego Pioneers.

10 minutes

Old Globe Theatre

1363 Old Globe Way, , San Diego, 92101-1696, California

Est. 1935. The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 75 years.

5 minutes

San Diego Museum of Art

1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92102, California

The museum houses a broad collection of Spanish art. It opened as the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed to its current name in 1978.

Pass by without stopping

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

The Botanical Building presents some of the Park’s vibrant seasonal flower displays. Built for the 1915-16 Exposition, along with the adjacent Lily Pond and Lagoon, the historic building is one of the largest lath structures in the world. The Botanical Building plantings include more than 2,100 permanent plants, featuring fascinating collections of cycads, ferns, orchids, other tropical plants, and palms.

10 minutes

Casa del Prado

1650 El Prado, Ca 92101, San Diego, 92101-1684, California

The Casa del Prado comprises several reconstructed buildings that were initially built for the Panama–California Exposition. Beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture.

Pass by without stopping

San Diego Natural History Museum

1788 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1624, California

It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and the oldest in Southern California.

Pass by without stopping

Fleet Science Center

1875 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1625, California

Established in 1973, it was the first science museum to combine interactive science exhibits with a planetarium and first IMAX Dome theater in the world.

Pass by without stopping

Spanish Village Art Center

1770 Village Pl, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101-1651, California

During the 1935 Expo, the Spanish Village held different restaurants and gift shops, selling some art and curios. But after the fair ended in 1936, the buildings were left empty until artists moved in the next year. Artists have been here since.

10 minutes

San Diego Zoo

2929 Zoo Drive, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101, California

Opened 1916 with abandoned animals from 1915 Expo. Most visited Zoo in America. Over 14,000 animals.

Pass by without stopping

Balboa Park Carousel

2920 Zoo Dr, , San Diego, 92101-1646, California

Built in 1910 in New York. Moved from Tent City Coronado in 1922.

Pass by without stopping

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden is an award winning All-American Rose Selection Display Garden containing over 2,400 rose bushes in 180 varieties.

Pass by without stopping

Centro Cultural de la Raza

2004 Park Boulevard at El Prado, , San Diego, California

Est. 1970. Founded by Salvador Torres who painted murals in Chicano Park in 1973.

Pass by without stopping

Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, , San Diego, 92101-1660, California

Return to Old Balboa Hospital 1925. End the tour at the Veterans Museum.

Pass by without stopping