Casa de Balboa

At this location, the Commerce and Industries Building from the Panama-California Exposition stood for more than 60 years. In 1915 it displayed commercial products and an operational federal post office, and a U.S. Mint machine produced souvenir coins. For the extended 1916 Exposition it became the Canadian Building, featuring a popular display of live beavers building dams. The Museum of Natural History later operated in the building before it was designated the Palace of Better Housing during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, when commercial home improvement products, Federal Housing Administration exhibits, and an outdoor Model Town with miniature houses designed by leading California architects filled the site. The U.S. Navy used the building during both World Wars, first as barracks and later as a hospital. Afterward it was rented for conventions and trade shows and became known as the Electric Building, then in 1965 it became the San Diego Aerospace Museum. A 1978 fire destroyed the building and its collections, but preservationists rebuilt the structure in 1981-82 and renamed it Casa de Balboa. Although the footprint and interior space were reconfigured, the exterior of the 1915 building, designed by Frank P. Allen, Jr. (1881-1943), was faithfully recreated. Inspired by an 18th century manor house in Queretaro, Mexico, Allen gave the structure a deep eave supported by nude female figures, originally painted in rich shades of blue, red, green, and gold.

San Diego, California · United States