Laguna de Las Flores Historical Marker

Constructed for the 1915 California-Panama Exposition, Laguna de Las Flores includes a large pond ("La Laguna") and a smaller pond ("La Lagunita") joined by a balustrade or walkway lined with lotus blossoms and lilies. The reflecting pools of the Laguna de Las Flores are located outside the entrance to the Botanical Building in Balboa Park. During World War I, the U.S. Navy used the larger pond as a training site for new recruits to practice rowing and swimming, while the U.S. Naval Hospital expanded the pond during World War II as a rehabilitation site for wounded sailors. Since the mid-20th century, Laguna de Las Flores has since been renovated several times. In 2009, a historical marker was erected by the Friends of Balboa Park.

To celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, the city of San Diego hosted a World’s Fair in Balboa Park. It was hoped that this event would garner national attention for the city, which at the time had a population of less than 40,000 people. Although San Francisco was awarded the honor of hosting the international exposition, San Diego proceeded with its World’s Fair anyway. The focus was on regional agriculture, while highlighting the city’s own Spanish Revival-style architecture and gardens. With its two reflecting pools, the Laguna de Las Flores was created outside the Botanical Building to highlight the distinctive gardens created for the event.  

Because San Diego was the first American port located north of the Panama Canal on the Pacific Coast, it was anticipated that the exposition, like the canal itself, would bring newcomers to the city for business and tourism. Although only a few permanent buildings were constructed for the World’s Fair, some of the original temporary plaster buildings were later saved through restoration and preservation efforts. Eventually, Balboa Park was recognized as a National Historic Landmark District, and these original buildings remain among the best examples of exposition architecture in the country.

The 1915 California-Panama Exposition in Balboa Park succeeded in drawing millions of visitors to the city of San Diego. In the years that followed, the exposition’s emphasis on Spanish Revival architecture continued to influence building styles and tastes throughout California and beyond. With an increase in tourists arriving in the city even after the event, Balboa Park became one of the most well-known destinations within San Diego, a distinction that it continues to enjoy to this day.

"La Laguna de las Flores, Balboa Park", SDSU Digital Collections. Accessed May 29th, 2024. https://digital.sdsu.edu/view-item?i=127050&WINID=1716996346491.

"La Laguna de las Flores, Balboa Park", SDSU University Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 29th, 2024. https://digitalcollections.sdsu.edu/do/70cbf5d4-195b-4ae7-b69c-7b597879d2a4.

"Laguna de Las Flores - San Diego, CA", Waymarking. Accessed May 29th, 2024. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM16Z3Q_Laguna_de_Las_Flores_San_Diego_CA.

Margolis, Adam . Laguna de Las Flores Historical Marker, Historical Marker Database. November 2nd, 2021. Accessed May 29th, 2024. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=209306.