California Quadrangle, Spanish Colonial Revival complex in Balboa Park, San Diego, United States.
The California Quadrangle is a Spanish Colonial Revival complex in Balboa Park, San Diego, built for the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition. Its California Building has a multi-tiered frontispiece with sculptures by the Piccirilli Brothers and a blue-and-gold dome modeled on the dome of the Church of Santa Prisca and San Sebastián in Taxco, Mexico. The adjoining California Tower, 198 feet (60 m) tall, shifts from a quadrangle to an octagon and then a circle. The complex now houses the Museum of Us.
Architect Bertram Goodhue designed the complex for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, an event celebrating the Panama Canal's completion. The buildings were retained as permanent structures in the park and came to represent California's growth during that period.
The Museum of Us presents exhibitions about human history with objects from different cultures and time periods. Visitors can learn how people lived and developed across the world.
The tower is open to visitors and offers views from multiple levels across the park and city. Wear good shoes since climbing the stairs requires physical effort.
The main building's frontispiece displays hand-carved sculptures by the Piccirilli Brothers, master craftsmen of that era. These artworks show the skilled stonework techniques used in the early 1900s.
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