Balboa Park - Part III

Our recent visit to San Diego's Balboa Park was surprising. There were more buildings and museums than I had ever imagined and they were incredibly ornate. Here's a sampling of what I saw...

We entered the park from the East side, near the science center. It was great to see all the people enjoying themselves in and around one of the fountains.


Even doggies were enjoying it...


This is one of the first really ornate buildings we saw. The street was so narrow and the building so big that I wasn't able to get it all in one picture...


The fine details at the top of this one are amazing!...


The top of this one has faces and nude women holding up the roof (click on the picture to enlarge it)...


Here's a larger view of the building. I think this is the building that we ate lunch in. It was a nice surprise to find really good and affordable food at a touristy place.


One of the things I was anxious to see is the famous organ pavillion. I've heard so much about it. It has one of the largest pipe organs in the world and has been in use since about 1917. It has over 4,500 pipes and it's really loud! They have free concerts during the summer and we were able experience one.


The details on this were just as amazing as other buildings in the park.


While enjoying the concert, I noticed that there are lights built into the ornamentation. You can click on the picture to enlarge it. Notice the lights in the twisty arch sections and along the straight part at the bottom of the photo. There are tiny faces hidden in the details as well...


The organ pavillion was a lot larger than I had expected.


There are covered walkways on each side of the main section. The end of each walkway has a beautiful gazebo type structure. Here's the one on the right...


This one was on the left. Visitors enjoyed listening to the concert in the shade of the gazebo and walkways. There was even a doggy enjoying the show...


Many of the buildings in the park are museums. The Museum of Man has one of the most ornate and fascinating facades...


It's very tall and hard to see the details in one photo. Here's a close up of one side, looking up...


As we stood and looked at it, we noticed more and more faces. This one has a hole in the mouth and I'm wondering if it might be a drain for the roof...


Here's another one...


These were on the huge front doors...


There were several towers in the park and at least one dome...


I think this one was on or next to the Museum of Man...


This dome was behind the Museum of Man and near another concert area...


This bridge was on the west side of the park. The road that goes through it goes over a huge and beautiful bridge that crosses the 163 freeway...


This is a view from the center of the park, looking west toward the dome and at another fountain...


Balboa Park is so large and we didn't see the whole park that day. We hope to go back soon to see more, ride our bikes on the trails and paths, and take more photos. What an incredible treasure!