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Lifestyle Section • Summer 2014 • Kentucky
Travel
Visiting Balboa
Park Museums
A WORLD CLASS ADVENTURE
By Dr. Tom Miller,
Staff Writer
One of southern California’s
treasures for family vacations is Balboa Park, once
the home of the 1935
California Pacific International Exposition.
San Diego hosted the 1915 PanamaCalifornia Exposition, and park commissioners decided on the name Balboa Park,
chosen in honor of Spanish-born Vasco
Nuñez de Balboa, the first European to spot
the Pacific Ocean while on exploration in
Panama.
Among the several museums and historical
sites in the park is the world-famous San
Diego Zoo, home to more than 4,000 rare
and endangered animals representing more
than 800 species and subspecies—a world
famous conservation organization where visitors view exotic animals in habitat environments. The San Diego Hall of Champions
Sports Museum offers sport enthusiasts
with a variety of memorabilia and historical events in the wide world of sport. Then
there is the Museum of Photographic Arts,
the San Diego Automotive Museum, the
Veterans Museum and Memorial Center.
Casa de Balboa which houses the Balboa
Art Conservation Center, Museum of
Photographic Arts, Museum of San Diego
History & Archives and San Diego Model
Railroad Museum.
The Casa del Prado and San Diego
Botanical gardens are among the most
beautiful internationally. The historic
Botanical Building is one of the largest