A few weeks ago I meandered about Inspiration Point in Balboa Park. Walking slowly, pausing often, going nowhere in particular. Just seeing what I might see.
At the south edge of the Balboa Park Administrative Courtyard, I stood and gazed down the hill toward a corner of downtown San Diego. You might remember my blog about the courtyard. It’s a place that very few people know about. It’s peaceful, green, a bit of heaven. A place of solitude.
As I stood, I glanced down some steps leading toward a seemingly unremarkable patch of trees. A dusty lot next to the trees contained dozens of parked city Park and Recreation trucks. I wondered to myself if the public was permitted to walk down those steps, into what appeared to be a city work area.
Then I saw the blue among the trees. Was that water?
No sign indicated I couldn’t investigate. So I did.
And what I found took my breath away.
The trees seemed a forgotten oasis. At their center shined a lonely pool and a small fountain in the form of a child. The cherub seemed to be holding open the mouth of a carp, or perhaps reading a book–I don’t know.
The strange fountain appeared to occupy a magical place, entirely removed from the surrounding world.
What was it?
An email to the Friends of Balboa Park, an organization whose office is in the nearby Balboa Park Administration Building, provided a bit of information.
The person who replied parks her car in the lot not far from the pool and fountain, and she was completely amazed. She’d didn’t know of its existence.
Ranger Kim, who also works in the building, and who knows volumes about the history of Balboa Park, indicated that the fountain was left over from the 1920’s when the U.S. Navy built a large hospital campus in the immediate area.
In the 1980’s, the land was given to the city in exchange for acreage in Florida Canyon, where the new Naval Medical Center San Diego was built. The buildings from the 1920’s were eventually demolished, except for a Navy chapel, the administration building and its stately courtyard, and a nearby medical library and auditorium building. Today the chapel contains the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center; the administration building contains Balboa Park’s headquarters.
And, of course, magic remains where very few people go: a small fountain that healed spirits at the old Navy complex. A beautiful, hidden fountain forgotten by time.
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Richard, you’re the official Balboa park sleuth, uncovering these wonderful gems I never knew existed. Maybe at Christmas, I’ll check this place out!
Funny! Will you be going to December Nights?
No, unfortunately, we won’t get down there til Christmas!
What a wonderful find, this looks like a really nice peaceful place. Incredible that people pass here and never knew it was there.
Thanks for the mini vacation 🙂
No problem!
I’ll be at the park on Tuesday for my photography class and will definitely check this out! Thanks for the tip.
You’ll be surprised!
Where is the park administrative building. I don’t see it listed on the Balboa park map I have? What a lovely find.
It also goes under the name “administration” building. It’s that big building you can see from Park Boulevard, to the right of the Veteran’s Museum! There’s a picture of it on that other blog post I linked to. It was a very cool find! If you go, enjoy!
Richard, I am so glad you came upon this area. You have shared a wonderful series of photos of this “mysterious” spot. And to think that a person parks her car nearby and didn’t know it was there! BTW, the photo of the magnificent Bird of Paradise is so beautiful. 🙂
It’s often rewarding to travel the road (or path) not taken!
Well, you got your reward, Richard. So did we!
its like a secret treasure! love the fountain and statue, it is amazing how things fade into obscurity. good for you to have scouted it out so we can see too 🙂
Yes, exactly like a secret treasure!
hey, you can have a new nickname, “Indiana Jones” 🙂
Congratulations, such a discovery. It is the reward for continuing to look with new eyes at “old” terrain…
The world is full of hidden cool stuff most of us never see.
Yup. We have to stay curious…
What a beautiful story of this special old fountain. Keep on searching!
I’ll keep on walking!
What a serendipitous find!! Gotta know, do you go wading? I would have!!
Maybe the child is reading a book he found in the carp’s open mouth?? It is magical place, after all!
Thanks for the follow.
I was tempted!
😉
Just went there today after reading your blog. I’ve lived here all my life and never knew it was there! Thanks for sharing. This is a really beautiful and quiet place- a nice change from the tourist areas. 😎
That’s awesome! I keep meaning to revisit the fountain, book in hand. It would be a great place to do some quiet reading!
Cool!! You can ALMOST see it on Google Maps if you zoom in close…
South of the Adminisrtation Building almost inside of the Dirt Parking Lot…
Oh, wow! I’ll have to check that out. I remember the pool has lots of trees around it, which might obscure the view from above somewhat.