Nearly a decade ago Balboa Park celebrated the centennial of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, and will soon celebrate the 90th anniversary of the California-Pacific International Exposition, which began in late May 1935. Ross Porter, President of the Balboa Park Committee of 100, was our speaker at our May 4, 2024 meeting.
The Committee formed in the late 1960s in response to replacement of buildings on the Plaza de Panama with more modern buildings, and the threatened loss of buildings on El Prado. In the past decade, the Committee has focused on restoration of 1935 buildings in The Palisades in the southernmost area of the park that includes buildings that now house the San Diego Automotive Museum and the San Diego Air & Space Museum that, during the Exposition, housed the California State Building and the Ford Building, respectively. The Committee led efforts to restore the tile murals of the State Building and in September will begin work on restoring the exterior of the Municipal Gymnasium, which housed the Palace of Electricity during the Exposition.
Other now-familiar parts of Balboa Park were added for the 1935 Exposition, including the Old Globe, the Starlight Bowl and the House of Pacific Relations that comprises small cottages that still house exhibits from several dozen countries. The Spanish Village also dates to 1935 and is now the Spanish Village Art Center that is home to working art studios and galleries. Porter invited members to visit the Balboa Park Committee of 100 website to explore photographs and brochures from the exposition, and to learn about ways to help preserve Balboa Park for generations to come.