San Diego, California: Balboa Park part 1--attractions; things to do

BALBOA PARK--PART 1-ATTRACTIONS

Sixth Ave. on the west, 28th St. on the east, Upas St. on the north, Russ Blvd. on the south, (619) 239-0512.

central Balboa Park in San Dieto, California

Balboa Park Visitors Center  

1549 El Prado, 619-239-0512.  Get oriented here.  An assortment of free guided walking tours  www.balboapark.org/visit/tours  address the park's architectural heritage, history, and botanical treasures.
●map 
●parking/tram 
    You'll need to spend several days or more to see everything in this magnificent 1,200-acre recreational wonderland. Larger than New York's Central Park and older than San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Balboa Park is the largest museum complex west of the Mississippi and San Diego’s crown jewel. 
    In addition to the famous zoo, this fabulous park is also home to a host of fascinating museums, most of which are found along the Prado--a sort of Museum Row with lovely Spanish Colonial Revival-style architecture.  Note that most are closed on Monday, and all have a free admission day each month.  To avoid getting museumed out, punctuate your gallery-going with garden-strolling.  One of the park’s great free pleasures is hearing the central bell tower peal out the hour. 

PARK ATTRACTIONS

●Balboa Park Carousel  

Daily 11-5; Sept-May, Sat-Sun.  $2.  You can ride hand-carved animals on this 1910 merry-go-round (the cats are my personal favorite), and you can also still grab for the proverbial brass ring . . . which in this case wins you a free ride. 

●Balboa Park Miniature Railroad  

Daily 11-6:30, Sept-May Sat-Sun 11-4:30.  $2.  Children especially enjoy riding this vintage train.

●Botanical Building  

F-W 10-4.  Free.  This grand old building, measuring 250 feet long by 75 feet wide by 60 feet tall, was the largest wood lath structure in the world when it was built in 1915.  It houses more than 2,100 tropical plants along with a changing display of seasonal flowers.  Out front, the gorgeous reflecting pond filled with lilies, koi of all colors, crawfish, and turtles attracts kids like a magnet, and they get mighty excited when they spot a few ducks doing a dive-bomb landing in front of them. 

Botanical Building in Balboa Park in San Diego, California

●House of Pacific Relations International Cottages  

Sun 12-4. 
Interesting informal exhibits depict the traditions and customs of an assortment of foreign countries within this cluster of cottages.

●Japanese Friendship Garden  

Daily 10-4:30.  $6, 65+ $5, under 7 free.  No pets.  Originally built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, this garden symbolizes the friendship between San Diego and its sister city Yokohama in Japan.  You can see an overview from the outside sidewalk at the Tea Pavilion.  The sights in the relatively small garden—it contains a peaceful Zen stone garden, a crystal-clear koi pond filled with priceless fish, a display of old bonsai—are connected by a pleasant strolling path.  Construction is under way for a large expansion in the canyon. 
    Just outside the entrance, the inexpensive and informal Tea Pavilion serves traditional Japanese green tea as well as herbal and specialty teas, along with a menu of sushi, noodles, rice bowls, and salads.  Unusual imported foods, beverages, and gift items are also available for purchase.

koi in Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park in San Diego, California

●Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater  

W-Sun at 11, 1, & 2:30.  $5, seniors $4.  Younger children especially enjoy the shows presented here.

●Moreton Bay fig tree  

This immense tree was planted in preparation for the 1915 exposition.

●Old Globe Theatre  

Year-round.  Shakespearean and other classical works are presented in this three-theater complex.

●Palm Canyon  

Daily.  Free.  Don’t miss the chance to see 450 different kinds of palms together in one spot.  An original group of Mexican fan palms date back to the early 1900s. 

Palm Canyon in Balboa Park in San Diego, California

●Spanish Village Art Center  

Daily 11-4.  In this warren of interesting craft shops, artists work in residence and demonstrate their skills. 

●Spreckles Organ Pavilion  

Free concerts are presented on the world's largest outdoor pipe organ, which has 4,518 pipes and weighs nearly 100,000 pounds. 

●Starlight Bowl  

June-Sept.  This outdoor amphitheater is the setting for musicals, concerts, and plays--think The Sound of Music and Hello, Dolly!.  It is directly under the flight path of the international airport, so actors have learned to pause when a plane flies over.

●street performers  

Sun at 2.  They entertain in El Prado, the central plaza area.  

●United Nations Building  

Daily 10-4:30.  The United Nations Building houses the United Nations Association of San Diego, the Eleanor Roosevelt Global Classroom, and the International Gift Shop, which helps fund the building through sales of unique world handicrafts that includes jewelry, books, toys, and world music.


BALBOA PARK:  PART 1--attractions
BALBOA PARK:  PART 2--museums
BALBOA PARK:  PART 3--restaurant
BALBOA PARK:  PART 4--zoo



More things to do in San Diego.

More information about San Diego.

Things to do in nearby La Jolla.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Diego, California: Balboa Park part 3--The Prado at Balboa Park; restaurant review

BALBOA PARK--PART 3-RESTAURANT

The Prado at Balboa Park  

1549 El Prado, in House of Hospitality, (619) 557-9441.  L daily; D Tu-Sun; $-$$$.  Reservations advised. 

It’s hard to believe, but the 1915 buildings holding this colorful restaurant were leveled in 1995, then reconstructed exactly but more solidly.  The well-priced menu at The Prado at Balboa Park is a delicious fusion of Latin and Italian cuisines.  Drinks include sangria, a pisco sour made with a grape liqueur from Chile, a refreshing virgin mojito, and fresh fruit sodas (think white peach or passion fruit).

tortilla soup at The Prado at Balboa Park in San Diego, California

 

Lunch items include colorful and mildly spicy tortilla soup, a crunchy Asian chopped chicken salad with mango and cabbage, grilled skirt steak, fish tacos, and an assortment of pastas and panini sandwiches.  More substantial entrees are added in the evening.  The children’s puzzle menu includes a grilled cheese sandwich, spaghetti, and macaroni and cheese.

patio at The Prado at Balboa Park in San Diego, California

I like to sit out on the fabulous and inviting open-air patio that surrounds a central fountain and is colorful with umbrellas and flowers.  It is especially inviting when dining en famille and for afternoon refreshment.



BALBOA PARK:  PART 1--attractions
BALBOA PARK:  PART 2--museums
BALBOA PARK:  PART 3--restaurant
BALBOA PARK:  PART 4--zoo

More things to do in San Diego.

More information about San Diego.

Things to do in nearby La Jolla. 

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Diego, California: Balboa Park part 2--museums; sights to see

BALBOA PARK--PART 2-MUSEUMS

●Mingei International Museum  

1439 El Prado, on the Plaza de Panama, in House of Charm, (619) 239-0003.  Tu-Sun 10-5.  $8; seniors 62+, military, students, & 6-17 $5; Family Sunday on 3rd Sun, $5/family.  Exhibits of folk art, craft, and design from all eras and cultures of the world change regularly at the Mingei International Museum.  Displays of dolls and toys, beads, and masks are semi-permanent in that they are sometimes changed out from the museum’s collections.

green mask from Bali at Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park
in San Diego, California

●Museum of Photographic Arts  

1649 El Prado, in Casa de Balboa, (619) 238-7559, www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/photographic-arts-building.  Tu-Sun 10-5, Thur to 9 pm in summer.  $8, seniors $7, students $6, military & under 13 free.  This is one of the few museums in the world devoted exclusively to photography, film, and video.  Exhibits change frequently.  Seeing the world through the eyes of master photographers might inspire you to go out and do it yourself, the way you see it.  The museum bookstore has one of the largest collections of photography books anywhere.

Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park in San Diego, California

●Museum of San Diego History  

This museum documents the heritage of San Diego and its people. 

●Reuben H. Fleet Science Center  

1875 El Prado, (619) 238-1233.  M-Thur 10-5, F-Sun 10-6.  $13, 65+ $12, & 3-12 $11, IMAX additional.  The Science Center--a mini version of San Francisco's Exploratorium--promises you and your kids an out-of-this-world experience.  There are no velvet ropes or “do not touch” signs here, but there are plenty of hands-on exhibits demonstrating physical principles.  Take ages 2 through 6 to the Little Learners’ Lab for pint-sized learning.  An IMAX theater and SciTours simulator ride round out the science fun.  Pepper Grove Playground is located just south of the center and is a great place for a picnic.  www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/pepper-grove-playground

●San Diego Air & Space Museum  

2001 Pan American Plaza, (619) 234-8291 x100.  Daily 10-4:30.  $18, 65+ $15, 3-11 $7.  Little boys, big boys, and many girls of all ages are going to get pretty excited when they see this gigantic museum that documents the history of powered flight and displays full-size planes.  The hangar-like space is packed with more than 65 U.S. and foreign aircraft.  They hang from the rafters, and they are parked on the floor.  A Spad, a Nieuport, and an Albatros fighter plane from World War I are part of the collection, as are a Spitfire, Zero and Hellcat from World War II.   Kids find the helicopter with a turning blade especially thrilling.  And all the while, jets are flying low overhead as they take off and land at the nearby San Diego Airport, adding realistic sound effects.

●San Diego Art Institute/Museum of the Living Artist  

1439 El Prado, in House of Charm, (619) 236-0011.  Tu-Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4.  $3, seniors $2, under 12 free.  This museum displays the work of local artists.  Its David Fleet Young Artists Gallery is devoted to showing the work of students in the region.

●San Diego Automotive Museum  

2080 Pan American Plaza, (619) 231-AUTO.  Daily 10-5.  $8, 65+ $6, 6-15 $4; free on Tu 10-4.  This welcoming museum says, “Kids love cars.  Come see ours.”  Take them up on it, and you’ll take a trip through automotive history--the horseless carriages of the 1920s, the cruisers of the ‘50s, and one of the largest motorcycle collections on the West Coast. 

●San Diego Hall of Champions  

2131 Pan American Plaza, (619) 234-2544.  Daily 10-4:30.  $8, 3-17 $5.  The ultra modern industrial interior here resembles a Nike store.  The museum honors local athletes—who were either born in San Diego or made their mark here (notables include baseball legends Tony Gwynn and Ted Williams)--and is filled with sports-related exhibits, including some hands-on fun for kids.  The White Glove Archive Tour lets children touch sports artifacts, and the whole family will probably find the evolution of football helmets intriguing. 

●San Diego History Center  

1649 El Prado, in Casa de Balboa, (619) 232-6203.  Daily 10 am-5 pm.  $8; 65+, military and students $6; 6-17 $4.  This features artifacts, costumes, textiles, art, furniture, and photographs of San Diego from its infancy on.  The research library contains extensive local historical resources, including the largest photograph collection in the western U.S. (it has more than 2.5 million images).

●San Diego Model Railroad Museum  

1649 El Prado, in Casa de Balboa, (619) 696-0199.  Tu-F 11-4, Sat-Sun 11-5.  $8, 65+ $6, 6-14 $1.  This subterranean museum is the largest permanent operating model railroad exhibit in North America.  Hundreds of volunteers have spent countless hours constructing the displays highlighting various model railroad scales, and they also are on hand to operate them.  The cooling air-conditioning is a huge relief on warm days.  Kids’ eyes will pop out when they see the gigantic central layout and moving trains, and they’ll go positively bananas when they find the buttons that let them operate some of the features.  The gift shop has the perfect souvenirs, including striped conductor caps--you might want to stop in here first and get outfitted for your visit--and trendy Thomas trains.  If you want to see the layouts being built, enter through the back door on Tuesday or Friday nights to watch the volunteers at work.

San Diego Model Railroad Museumin Balboa Park in San Diego, California

●The San Diego Museum of Art  

1450 El Prado, (619) 232-7931.  M-Tu & Thur-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5.  $12, 65+ $9, 7-17 $4.50.  Located inside a building with an ornate 16th-century Spanish-style facade, this collection includes ancient Egyptian pieces, old masters, and modern artists.  Asian art, sometimes including a 16th-century Japanese suit of armor that appeals to kids, is also well represented in rotating exhibits.  Sunday Family Days are scheduled throughout the year. 

●San Diego Museum of Man  

1350 El Prado, (619) 239-2001.  Thur-Sat 10-4:30, Sun-Wed 10-5.  $12.50, 62+ $10, 13-17 $8, 3-12 $6.  Featuring anthropological displays and local history exhibits, this museum has an assortment of displays that are particularly appealing to children:  a cheerily-tiled tortilla kitchen, where Wednesday through Sunday you can sample the product for a small fee; a band of skeleton mariachis; a large wooden puzzle of the 31 states of Mexico.  Kids also enjoy the Bigfoot exhibit, Mummy exhibit, and The Children’s Discovery Center with its variety of hands-on activities.  The museum's ornate exterior Spanish-colonial-style tower is a symbol of the city and stood in for Xanadu in Orson Welles' movie Citizen Kane.

●San Diego Natural History Museum  

1788 El Prado, (619) 232-3821.  Daily 10-5.  $17, 62+ $15, 13-17 $12, 3-12 $11.  Though a museum that opened over 125 years ago might sound stuffy, this one isn’t.  It is particularly appealing to children, with innovative exhibits on the area's animal and plant life as well as the more traditional dinosaur skeletons and a fascinating Foucault pendulum.  Many exhibits invite kids to get involved and to touch a variety of artifacts.  You enter the Rocks and Minerals room through a faux mine tunnel, and once there see plenty of big rock samples that kids can handle.  Stuffed birds and animals are in creative exhibits in the Desert Ecology area, and many exhibit windows are at a preschooler’s eye-level.  The gift shop is filled with stones and bugs and things kids love, including lollipops with worms in them.  Call for information on family programs and children’s classes. 

●Timken Museum of Art  

1500 El Prado, (619) 239-5548.  Tu-Sat 10-4:30, Sun 12-4:30.  Free.  This small collection consists of European Old Masters, 18th- and 19th-century American paintings, and Russian icons. 

●Veterans Museum and Memorial Center  

Park Blvd./Inspiration Pt., (619) 239-2300.  Tu-Sun 10-4.  Free.  Occupying the former chapel of the old Naval Hospital Complex, this center honors the memories of men and women who served in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.  Museum artifacts date back to the Civil War.  Just east of the center is the Vietnam Peace Memorial, which was relocated to this site from Old Town San Diego in the 1990s.


BALBOA PARK:  PART 1--attractions
BALBOA PARK:  PART 2--museums
BALBOA PARK:  PART 3--restaurant
BALBOA PARK:  PART 4--zoo



More things to do in San Diego.

More information about San Diego.

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More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Diego, California: Balboa Park part 4--San Diego Zoo; things to do

BALBOA PARK--PART 4-ZOO

SAN DIEGO ZOO  

2920 Zoo Dr., (619) 231-1515.  Opens at 9; closing hours vary, in summer 9-8.  $46, 3-11 $36; price includes guided bus tour, express bus, and Skyfari aerial tram.  Free parking. 

The city's most popular attraction, this famous zoo is known for its large, diverse, and rare collection of animals--most of which are housed in attractive habitat enclosures.

giant panda in tree at San Diego Zoo in California

The San Diego Zoo is home to almost 4,000 rare and exotic animals, including giant pandas from China, koalas from Australia, pygmy chimpanzees from Central Africa, and Komodo dragons from Indonesia.  Natural habitats include Gorilla Tropics, Sun Bear Forest, and Tiger River--a 3-acre simulated ecosystem in which you’ll walk along pathways past plants and animals living much as they would in their natural habitat.  Your kids will go ape at Polar Bear Plunge and at the swimming hippo exhibit in Ituri Forest, where those animals can be viewed swimming under water.  The Owens Rain Forest Aviary simulates the sights and sounds of a Southeast Asian jungle and gives you a close-up look at more than 200 birds.   This zoo is also a botanical garden with more than 6,500 species represented, including many unusual tropical and subtropical plants and flowers. 

Since it covers 100 acres, it is wise, especially with young children in tow, to begin a visit with the 40-minute bus tour and then return to areas of particular interest.  Note that the line for the sun-exposed upper deck of the bus is much longer than for the more comfortable covered lower deck, which also puts you at eye-level with the animals.  The Skyfari Aerial Tramway will also give your family’s tootsies a rest. 

Be sure to allow time for the kid-pleasing trained seal show and the Children's Zoo, which has ducks running loose for kids to meet and features a popular animal petting area.  For a fabulous souvenir, let your kids pick out a favorite animal in stuffed format.  A zoo coloring book is a good choice, too.  Buy desired items when you see them at the small gift stands spread throughout the zoo, as the gift shop by the main gate does not stock everything.  If you’re traveling with a baby, note that changing tables are not only provided but are available even in the men’s bathrooms!, so Daddy--you can help out.  Rental strollers are also available.  In summer, the zoo stays open  late, letting you see the nocturnal animals in an active state.  Kids in kindergarten through grade 12 can enroll in special summer day camps.

Watch the giant pandas live via webcam.


BALBOA PARK:  PART 1--attractions
BALBOA PARK:  PART 2--museums
BALBOA PARK:  PART 3--restaurant
BALBOA PARK:  PART 4--zoo



More things to do in San Diego.

More information about San Diego.

Things to do in nearby La Jolla. 

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

San Diego, California: SD Chicken Pie Shop; restaurant review

SD Chicken Pie Shop  

2633 El Cajon Blvd./Oregon, NE of Balboa Park, (Texas St. south exit off Hwy. 8, then left on El Cajon), North Park, (619) 295-0156.  Daily 8-8; $.  Free parking lot in back. Formerly known as Chicken Pie Shop of San Diego.  

Founded before World War II in 1938, this area institution especially appeals to senior citizens--many of whom have patronized it ever since.  The original location of SD Chicken Pie Shop was downtown on Fifth Avenue near B Street, with a branch at Fifth and Robinson in Hillcrest.  The dinner then cost 35 cents.  In 1970, the branch moved across the street and the original downtown location closed.  In 1990, it relocated here.

counter at SD Chicken Pie Shop in San Diego, California

Seating is in comfortable booths, at tables and chairs, and at a row of swivel stools at a low old-time counter. Chicken decorations are found throughout the large one-room restaurant and include a fabulous collection of ‘50s ceramic chickens.

chicken pie dinner at SD Chicken Pie Shop in San Diego, California

The celebrated menu item here is the $8.10 fresh-from-the-oven chicken-turkey pot pie dinner.  The pie is stuffed with shredded chicken and turkey in gravy, has a good crust, and includes on the side mashed potatoes, a frozen vegetable, a tasty coleslaw, a big roll with real butter, and dessert pie (my faves are the sour cherry and chocolate cream).  Though the chicken pie looks more like a cheeseburger when it is served, it is actually hidden under all the yellow gravy and quite delicious.  More menu items include baked ham, roast sirloin, chicken-fried steak, fried chicken, hamburgers, and steaks.  Meal delivery is by trolleys—an unusual sight except in Chinese dim sum restaurants. 


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image ©2009 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated January 5, 2015

San Diego, California: Britt Scripps Manor; hotel review

Britt Scripps Manor  

406 Maple St./4th Ave., a few blks. from Balboa Park, (888) 881-1991, (619) 230-1991. 9 rooms; $205 to $515. Evening wine; full breakfast.

This multi-gabled 1887 Queen Anne-style Victorian mansion is a historic landmark. Now known as Britt Scripps Manor, it features a striking turret, wrap-around porch, and a two-story original stained glass wall depicting morning, noon, and night in changing colors throughout the day—also an opulent parlor, hand-carved oak staircase, and music alcove with 1883 Steinway Art Case piano signed by Henry Steinway, great grandson of the founder. Exquisite attention is paid to details. Each individually decorated room represents a different design genre from the Victorian period, and each is equipped with a flat screen TV, bathrobes, and cashmere throws. Some bathrooms have claw-foot bathtubs. The exterior is painted in the original Victorian colors of yellow and red with green trim. Out front, the oldest Camphor Tree in North America--planted in 1865—is fragrant with menthol.



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