House of Hospitality, Spanish Renaissance landmark building in Balboa Park, San Diego, United States.
The House of Hospitality is a Spanish Renaissance-style building inspired by the Hospital of Santa Cruz in Toledo and features elaborate stone carvings and decorative details. Inside, it houses a visitor center, offices, and exhibition spaces that together keep the park active.
The House of Hospitality was built in 1915 as the Foreign Arts Building for the Panama–California Exposition and was meant to be temporary. For the California Pacific International Exposition of 1935 it was renamed the House of Hospitality. In the 1990s it was demolished for structural reasons and then rebuilt using the original building as a model.
The building's name changed with its use: it opened in 1915 as the Foreign Arts Building, then became the House of Hospitality for the 1935 exposition. Today its halls hold the Balboa Park Visitors Center, where staff answer questions about the park's museums, gardens and events, alongside the offices of the Balboa Park Conservancy and other park organizations.
The visitor center provides maps, guides, and information about the park's museums, gardens, and events. It serves as a useful starting point for a park visit to get an overview of what is available.
The building was demolished in the 1990s for structural reasons, then rebuilt using the original as a model. Visitors walking through the reconstructed rooms rarely realise the present structure is a modern copy of the 1915 Foreign Arts Building.
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