California Building - San Diego, CA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 32° 43.898 W 117° 09.133
11S E 485737 N 3621546
The California Building, in San Diego's Balboa Park, is the tallest building in the park.
Waymark Code: WM10R2K
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2019
Views: 3
Taken from Wikipedia, "The museum traces its origins to the Panama-California Exposition, which opened in 1915 on the occasion of the inauguration of the Panama Canal. The central exhibit of the exposition, "The Story of Man through the Ages", was assembled under the direction of noted archaeologist Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett of the School of American Archaeology (later renamed the School of American Research, and since 2007 the School for Advanced Research[1]). Hewett organized expeditions to gather pre-Columbian pottery from the American Southwest and to Guatemala for objects and reproductions of Maya civilization monuments.
Numerous other materials were gathered from expeditions sent by anthropologist Aleš Hrdlicka of the Smithsonian Institution, who gathered casts and specimens from Africa, Siberia, Alaska and Southeast Asia. Osteological remains and trepanated crania from Peruvian sites were also obtained.[2]
As the Exposition drew to a close, a group of citizens led by George Marston formed the San Diego Museum Association to retain the collection and convert it into a permanent museum, with Dr. Hewett as the first director. Notable additions to the museum's collection after the Exposition included the Jessop Weapons Collection and a rare collection of artifacts from the ancient Egyptian city of Amarna, donated by Ellen Browning Scripps and the Egyptian Exploration Society.
Between 1935 and 1936, the museum's name briefly changed to the Palace of Science in order to correspond with other exhibit buildings participating in the California-Pacific International Exposition. During this exposition, the museum housed several special exhibitions from a variety of sources, such as the Monte Alban exhibit, which featured many artifacts on loan from the Mexican government.
The name was changed to "Museum of Man" in 1942 to emphasize the museum's concentration on anthropology. "San Diego" was added in 1978.[1] The museum was converted into a hospital during World War II, and its exhibits and collections were temporarily moved into storage. Following the war, the museum began to focus its collections on the peoples of the Western Americas. The museum's collections grew substantially from the 1980s through the early 1990s, and today contains nearly two million individual objects.
The museum is housed in four original buildings from the 1915 Exposition. Those include the California Quadrangle, which was designed for the Exposition by American architect Bertram G. Goodhue, and the California Tower, one of the most prominent landmarks in San Diego. The Quadrangle and Tower are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3] The exterior sculpture on the building was created by the Piccirilli Brothers.
The main museum, including exhibits and gift shop, is housed in the ornate California Building with its landmark tower. The tower, closed to the public for nearly 80 years, reopened on January 1, 2015, in time for the 2015 centennial of the Panama-California Exposition.[4] The tower contains a carillon and quarterly-hour chimes which can be heard all over Balboa Park.
The museum also occupies three other original 1915 buildings. Administrative offices and an auditorium are housed in the Gill Administration Building, immediately adjacent to the Museum on the west. Originally known as the Balboa Park Administration Building, it was built in 1911 and designed by architect Irving Gill. It was the first building erected in Balboa Park.[5] On the opposite (south) side of the California Quadrangle, housed in what was originally the Fine Arts Building, is Evernham Hall, a banquet room which is also used for temporary exhibits. Immediately adjacent is the Saint Francis Chapel, a non-denominational Spanish-style chapel available for private events such as weddings."
Award Collection:
2009 California Preservation Foundation Design Award
2009 Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO)
2009 San Diego Historical Resources Board (HRB)
2009 American Public Works Association
2010 Hossein Ruthi Award, Construction Management
2010 National American Public Works Association, Project of the Year for Restoration
Number of award plaques:: no
Sites web address: [Web Link]
Type of awarded site: Single building
Other type. Please explain: Not listed
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