Balboa Park's Best-Kept Secrets: Little Known Facts About San Diego's Jewel

Balboa Park in San Diego is famous for its stunning Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, lush gardens, and world-class museums. It's an iconic destination, but beyond the well-trodden paths and major attractions lie some truly fascinating, little-known facts about its history and hidden spots.

Here are a few secrets of Balboa Park that even many long-time San Diegans might not know:

1. A Cultural Oasis: 17+ Museums and Dozens of Venues 🎨

Balboa Park is not just a park; it is the nation's largest urban cultural park and is often cited as the Smithsonian of the West. It is a massive hub of culture, science, and nature.

Balboa Park is an entire day's adventure!

The park is home to 17 major museums and cultural institutions, along with the world-famous San Diego Zoo, multiple performing arts venues (like the Old Globe Theatre and Spreckels Organ Pavilion), and dozens of other attractions. This density of world-class venues in a single location is what truly sets Balboa Park apart as a cultural treasure.

2. Home to the World's Only Comic-Con Museum 🦸

Solidifying its status as a nexus of culture, Balboa Park is the unique location of the Comic-Con Museum. Opened in 2021 in the historic Federal Building, this museum is the only permanent cultural institution dedicated to celebrating comics and all related popular arts year-round, spun off from the global phenomenon that is San Diego Comic-Con. It gives pop culture the institutional recognition it deserves, cementing the park as a place where high art meets fantasy and fandom.

3. The Nudist Colony Turned Butterfly Garden 🦋

Perhaps the most surprising secret of the park is the history of Zoro Garden. Today, this peaceful, stone-lined grotto is a beautiful sunken refuge known for attracting butterflies.

However, during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, it served a far more scandalous purpose: it was a nudist colony! Visitors could pay a quarter for a full view of the sun-worshipping performers, or catch free, brief glimpses through knotholes in the surrounding fence.

4. World War II Turned the Park into a Naval Hospital 🏥

The elegance of Balboa Park's buildings belies a much more rugged past. During both World Wars, the park was effectively taken over by the U.S. military.

During World War II, the park transformed into an extension of the Balboa Naval Hospital. The beautiful House of Hospitality became a nurses' dormitory, the San Diego Museum of Art was converted to hold 400 hospital beds, and the tranquil Lily Pond in front of the Botanical Building was drained and used as a rehabilitation pool for recovering servicemen.

5. The San Diego Zoo's "Hairy Houdini" 

Clever escape artist Ken Allen!

The San Diego Zoo, located within the park, has its own history of daring escapes, most famously involving an orangutan named Ken Allen.

In the 1980s, Ken Allen, a Bornean orangutan, became a worldwide celebrity for repeatedly escaping his supposedly "escape-proof" enclosure. Nicknamed "The Hairy Houdini," Ken Allen would calmly stroll around the zoo grounds, often checking out the other animal exhibits or even posing for photos with unwitting tourists. Zookeepers were so baffled by his methods that they had to go "undercover" as tourists to finally catch him in the act.

6. The Great Lily Pond Flash Mob Vandalism of 2012 💦

The picturesque Lily Pond, a centerpiece of the park since the 1915 Exposition, was the site of a chaotic event in the summer of 2012. An unpermitted, late-night "water gun fight" organized on social media drew an estimated 1,500 people.

The massive crowd swarmed the century-old pond and surrounding area, leading to significant destruction. The revelers broke a drain pipe, trampled new landscaping, and destroyed the iconic Victorian lilies, causing approximately $10,000 in damage. Public donations were ultimately needed to fund the extensive repairs to the historic landmark.

7. The California Tower hasn't been open since 1935.

Only last year did the beautiful, ornate early 20th Century, first Expo-era structure reopen to the public. So, go explore that too.

Here's a more complete view of all Balboa Park has to offer

Next time you stroll through Balboa Park, remember these incredible tales. The "Jewel of San Diego" is more than just a beautiful collection of museums; it's a living archive of San Diego's complex, surprising, and often eccentric history!

And for more information visit - https://explorer.balboapark.org/plan-my-visit/