Balboa Park
San Diego was the first city west of the Mississippi to dedicate land specifically for an urban park in 1870, setting aside a 1440-acre tract initially named "City Park"
that would soon be home to the horticultural and cultural pride of the city. In 1892, Horticulturist Kate Sessions leased 30 acres of the park for a nursery and brought many new plants to the area. By 1902, an official Park Improvement Committee was formed and landscape architect Samuel Parsons was hired to create an initial comprehensive plan for the area. It was renamed in 1910 to honor explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
From 1915 to 1916, the park hosted the Panama-California Exposition, a major catalyst for the park's development. Many of the buildings in the Spanish Colonial Revival style were built for the exposition, designed by architect Bertram G. Goodhue. The entire park's subsequent architecture was largely shaped by the Exposition, which led to the construction of many of its best-known buildings.
Although the buildings were originally intended to be temporary, the exposition's success and extension for a second year led to their continued use and eventual permanence.