The Botanical Building

The Botanical Building became widely acclaimed as the most photographed spot in San Diego. Alfred D. Robinson, a founder and president of the San Diego Floral Society, proposed a lath house for the 1915 Panama California Exposition to display flora native to Southern California along with tropical and temperate plants from around the world. Carleton Winslow, Frank P. Allen, Jr. and Thomas Hunter designed the structure, one of the largest lath structures in the world, with a steel frame covered by 12 miles of redwood slats. The original building included a glass conservatory extending from the center and a more elaborate stucco façade across the front, but the conservatory was later removed and the front simplified, leaving the central triple-arched arcade adjoining Persian-style domes over the entrances. The lagoons in front were part of the original design. The building was completed six months before the Exposition opened at midnight on December 31, 1914, and visitors called it "The Lath Palace." During the Exposition, its lush display of rare and exotic plants made a lasting impression and broadened understanding of San Diego's potential as a center for ornamental horticulture. Today it shelters more than 2,100 permanent plantings, supplemented by special seasonal displays.

San Diego, California · United States