Not far from Downtown San Diego is Balboa Park, 1200 acres (4.9 sq. km) of urban oasis. Aside from the world famous San Diego Zoo, the gems of the park are the many museums located along the main El Prado promenade. They were built for the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition in the Spanish Colonial style.
In 1935, the park was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to see the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Panama Isthmus. Ironically, Balboa never came near California.