IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 44 
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 1915 Panama–California 
Exposition and the establishment of Balboa Park in San Diego, California. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 1, 2015 
Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. 
VARGAS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 1915 Pan-
ama–California Exposition and the establishment of Bal-
boa Park in San Diego, California. 
Whereas in 1868, San Diego civic leaders set aside 1,400 
acres of land, which became known as City Park; 
Whereas in 1910, in preparation for the Panama–California 
Exposition hosted by San Diego, that park was named 
‘‘Balboa Park’’ in honor of Spanish-born Vasco Nun˜ez de 
Balboa, the first European to see the Pacific Ocean while 
exploring in present-day Panama; 
Whereas the 1915–1916 Panama–California Exposition com-
memorated the opening of the Panama Canal and was 
the first of two expositions that added to Balboa Park’s 
dramatic architecture; 
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Whereas in 1914, John D. and Adolph Spreckels donated the 
Spreckels Organ, one of the world’s largest outdoor pipe 
organs, to the City of San Diego for the Panama–Cali-
fornia Exposition, and this unique organ contains 4,530 
pipes ranging in length from the size of a pencil to 32 
feet and is housed in an ornate vaulted structure with 
highly embellished gables; 
Whereas the San Diego Zoo was established in Balboa Park 
at the close of the Exposition in the fall of 1916, when 
Dr. Harry Wegeforth, a local physician, conceived the 
idea of starting a zoo after hearing the roar of a lion, one 
of the few wild animals displayed in cages at the Expo-
sition, and the Balboa Zoo is now home to more than 
3,700 rare and endangered animals representing over 
660 species and subspecies and a prominent botanical 
collection with more than 700,000 plants—a world fa-
mous conservation organization where visitors view exotic 
animals in habitat environments; 
Whereas in 1926, the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, now 
The San Diego Museum of Art, opened to the public, and 
its renowned holdings include a fine selection of Euro-
pean old masters, 19th and 20th century American art, 
an encyclopedic Asian collection, and growing collections 
of contemporary and Latin American art; 
Whereas in 1933, the San Diego Natural History Museum 
opened within the park and is housed in a building cre-
ated with Works Project Administration assistance; 
Whereas in 1935–1936, Balboa Park hosted its second major 
exposition, the California Pacific International Expo-
sition, which helped boost the local economy during the 
depression and added additional structures and land-
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scaping, many of which now host cultural institutions and 
events; 
Whereas the internationally acclaimed, Tony Award-winning 
Old Globe, one of the most esteemed regional theaters in 
the country, was founded within Balboa Park in 1935, 
and now boasts three unique venues: the historic Old 
Globe Theatre (built for the 1935 exposition and ex-
panded and rebuilt in 1978), the intimate Sheryl and 
Harvey White Theatre, and the outdoor Lowell Davies 
Festival Theatre; 
Whereas Balboa Park helped support military efforts in 
World War I and World War II, when most of the build-
ings on the Central Mesa became adjuncts to the adja-
cent Naval hospital, the House of Hospitality became a 
nurses’ dormitory, the Lily Pond became a rehabilitation 
pool, and 400 hospital beds were placed in the San Diego 
Fine Arts Gallery; 
Whereas on December 25, 1946, the California Tower car-
illon was installed; whose chimes are still heard across 
the park on every quarter hour; 
Whereas in 1978, two devastating fires struck Balboa Park, 
resulting in the destruction of the Electric Building, in-
cluding the San Diego Aerospace Museum collection, and 
the 1935 Old Globe Theatre, both of which were rebuilt 
with private donations; 
Whereas in the 1980s, the San Diego Model Railroad Mu-
seum, the Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego 
Automotive Museum and the Veterans Museum and Me-
morial Center all opened within Balboa Park; 
Whereas in the 1990s, the beautiful Japanese Friendship 
Garden, the Mingei International Museum, the San 
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