Balboa Park Botanical Building, San Diego

One of the City’s most popular tourist attractions, this striking open-air historic building first debuted in 1915 and currently contains over 2100 tropical plants.

Key Details:

This building is one of the largest wood latch structures in the world.  It was originally built for the Panama-California Exposition and was a part of a number of other structures, gardens and exhibits constructed for the exposition.  Details vary on who was responsible for the design because of the number of number of architects involved in the preparation of the exposition, but Carleston M. Winslow, Frank P. Allen, and Thomas B. Hunter have been largely credited with the concept and execution of the structure.

The building holds a large collection of plants including cycads, ferns, orchids, other tropical plants, and palms.  A series of narrow paths traverse through the dense plantings, small sub-spaces, and several small water features.  Despite its immense size, walking through the structure is an intimate, almost private experience.  The Botanical Building is a contributing structure to the Balboa Park Historic District.

If You Go:

The Botanical Building is open to the public everyday except Thursday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Check the website for additional information.  The surrounding Balboa Park is a walker’s delight with beautiful architecture and gardens.

Sources:

http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/botanical-building

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bpbuildings/botanical.htm

http://www.san-diego-travels.com/botanical-building.html

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