A couple of old lampposts. That old-looking adobe building in the back happens to just be the bathrooms. (You know it's a nice park when the bathrooms look this good.) Actually, it only looks this good because of the Panama-California Exposition held for the opening of the Panama Canal from 1915-1917. Though the bathrooms were likely not around then (certainly in this form), anything built since the 1960s has been required to adhere to the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style.


The Spreckels Organ Pavilion. These foreign tourists are contemplating the grandiosity of it all. (They're not hipsters because there are no fake glasses or knit hats.)


What I'll call the South Gate, entering the Plaza de Panama main area on Pan American Road. The statue is of El Cid, medieval hero of Spain, and a tribute to this area having been part of Spanish Mexico before the 19th century.


The House of Hospitality, now part restaurant and part visitor center. No design expense was spared back in the days of expositions. A lot of the details here and on other buildings in the park have faces peeking out of random places.


I want to call this the North Gate, because it pinches the walkway coming in under the palm trees, but it's not really much of a gate.


Mingei International Museum, seen from the east and then south.


Continuing west on El Prado (Spanish for "meadow," even though it's a roadway - should be "La Calzada"), this is the California State Building, now housing the Museum of Man.


Exiting Plaza de Panama through the West Gate, the most ornate and most popular because it bridges west across Cabrillo Canyon and connects Balboa Park to downtown. It's also the most gatelike entrance to the plaza.


Eastward across Cabrillo Bridge to the West Gate. The State Building rises to the left.

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