C100 Art Exhibition Sums Up Balboa Park’s History

By Ross Porter

A collection of then-and-now photographs showed various C100 projects since its founding in 1967 as well as period birds-eye views of the park, top left and middle.

At the invitation of downtown’s University Club, the Balboa Park Committee of 100 mounted its first-ever art exhibition earlier this year to showcase nearly 60 years of work to restore and improve the park.

Pieces of sculpture, maps, photos, posters, paintings and artifacts filled nine niches on the club’s 34th floor at Symphony Towers on B Street.

The displays consisted of about 40 individual pieces. In addition to the C100 Archives, elements of the display came from the private collections of Roger Showley and Danielle Zhang. The San Diego History Center lent the show a 1916 painting by landscape artist Maurice Braun, depicting the Spreckels Organ Pavilion from the California Tower.

Items of sculpture and working drawings were provided by Mike and Kevin Matson of Bellagio Precast.

“Now that we have created a comprehensive but compact set of articles to show, we can take it on the road to libraries, senior centers or other places where Balboa Park is known and loved,” Showley said, who along with C100 board members Danielle Zhang and Ross Porter assembled the exhibit.

A series of 10 “yesterday and today” photographs helps to orient the viewer, along with maps that visitors used at the 1915 and 1935 expositions.

“To review these objects up close is another way of recognizing how much unique work has gone into the creation of today’s Balboa Park, from vision and design to the detail of craftsmanship,” Showley said.

At left: Winners of the 2021 poster contest sponsored by C100 and produced by the AIGA graphic arts local chapter included the first prize recipient, top left, by Antonio Mustico.

Items on display included:

• Several panoramic views, including a 1985 reprint of a 1913 poster showing a birds-eye view of downtown San Diego, the expo grounds, San Diego Bay, Coronado, and Point Loma.

• For the House of Hospitality restoration and reopening in 1997, a durable printed 40-by-48-inch sign features a 1983 drawing by artist Robert Miles Parker.

• For the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, Shell Oil Co. sponsored a 22-by-34-inch “fun map” by cartoon artist Don Bloodgood. On one side, the map shows the San Diego area from La Jolla to the Mexican border; on the other, a close-in view of the exposition grounds.

• Proclamations signed by then-Mayor Pete Wilson  in 1975 and another signed  in 2017 by then-Assemblyman Todd Gloria are accompanied by recent awards to C100 for its restoration projects.

• Colorful, contemporary design winners from the Automotive Museum poster contest that C100 held in 2021 in collaboration with AIGA, the graphic arts organization.

• Paintings, ornaments, silk screens, and other items rounded out this eclectic collection.

• C100 thanks the University Club and its Art C

  ommittee, which supported the concept of a C100 show that Zhang proposed.
  

Elements of the display and other items from the C100 archives may be arranged for public display on request. Contact Ross Porter at RossPorterster@gmail.com for more information.

A project sign for the 1997 reconstruction of the House of Hospitality hung in the opening alcove for the exhibition.

Objects from Mike and Kevin Matson’s Bellagio Precast studio included an annotated sketch of the Municipal Gym’s reconstructed bas-relief; a gold-leafed bugler from the Spreckels Organ Pavilion; photos of the grizzly bear statues for the Automotive Museum roof; and a madonna statue for the Casa del Prado.

Fine art paintings included Maurice Braun’s 1916 painting, “Balboa Park View from the California Tower,” top left; local artist Jane Smith’s painting of the California Tower, ca. 2000; and local landscape architect and artist Danielle Zhang’s “Four Seasons in Balboa Park,” 2021. All Photos: C100.