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A large gallery with changing exhibitions of San Diego artists.
The San Diego Art Institute was a contemporary art museum with a focus on artists from the Southern California and Baja Norte region. It was founded in 1941 as the San Diego Business Men's Art Club. Its name was changed in 1950 to the San Diego Art Institute. In 1953, women were admitted for membership. It officially became a nonprofit in 1963. The San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park and Lux Art Institute in Encinitas merged in September 2021 to become the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, with each museum continuing to operate at its respective site.
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A large folk art museum which is instantly recognizable from the outside by the large colorful mosaic sculptures out front, which are a delight for kids to climb on.
A small art museum with collections of lesser-known pieces from famous European old masters, American, and Russian painters.
It's beneath the majestic California Tower near the Cabrillo Bridge. The Museum of Man is an institution devoted entirely to anthropology. The museum's permanent collection includes exhibits on the Mayan, ancient Egypt, the Kumeyaay Indians of San Diego County, Human Evolution, and the Human Life Cycle, with some incredible displays such as mummies, ancient artifacts from prehistoric cultures, and replicas of ancient monuments.
The largest art museum in the region, with European, contemporary, and Latin American art, 19th and 20th century American art, and an Asian collection. There are also changing exhibitions, featuring show major art shows.
The original theater, designed to copy Shakespeare's theatre in London, was built in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition in only 32 days and featured shortened versions of Shakespeare plays. In 1941, the U.S. Navy ordered the Old Globe to remove equipment and records for a period of 24 hours -- the Navy had acquired Balboa Park for use during World War II. By the summer of 1947, the federal government returned the park to the City of San Diego. In 1978 the theatre was destroyed by fire; a rebuilt theatre opened in 1982. The area hosts three stages including the Old Globe itself, the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, and an outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theater. You will usually have to purchase tickets in advance.
If you have kids or know a train buff, a visit to this fantastic museum should be high on your list. Just like the name suggests, this institution is dedicated to model railroading, with some of the largest model railroad layouts in the world. There are also some interactive exhibits and displays on the history of railroads in San Diego.