Press conferences in front of crumbling buildings have done nothing to actually meet the needs of the Park. Long-term major financing for these needs, native-plant restoration of the Florida Canyon Nature Preserve, and a focus on the future are all issues conveniently ignored by elected officials. That neglect must be stopped.

George Marston put it best in his letter sent to our local newspaper paper in 1925: " the time is coming when the building of hospitals and schoolhouses or even libraries and museums must cease or else we shall have a city there instead of a park."

Balboa Park is under constant assault by Politicians' fiscal & physical neglect, those who want to strip its historical fabric for "Improvements", those who would cover parklands with more pavement, and some who want acres of Park lands for schools and other favored private projects.

In 2016, BPHA will Sponsor and Co-Sponsor Spring celebrations featuring music, dance and the floral beauty of Spring in the Park. Summer will present programs on financing the great needs of the Park, focusing on the sad state of Park infrastructure, public bond finance options, and the practical realities of passing a $350,000,000-$450,000,000 major Bond initiative for the Park. In Fall, BPHA will host a major presentation of the future of the Park: "The Next 100 Years." Urban Park experts from local institutions, from the very successful Central Park Conservancy of New York City and elsewhere will participate in a robust and challenging dialogue on the Park's needs and future. In November, BPHA will again Co-Host celebrations for Kate Sessions' Birthday, now a BPHA annual tradition.

Balboa Park Heritage Association celebration & advocacy plans for 2016 need YOUR Membership, volunteer assistance and generous support. 

YOU can make a difference now by becoming a Balboa Park Heritage Association Member, by contributing in any amount, by volunteering and by SHARING this with all your Facebook friends. The Park needs YOUR voice and support NOW. Become an Annual Member at $25, Dual Member for $50, Centennial Member at $100 , Balboa Member at $250 or Lifetime Member at $500 by making a secure tax- deductible contribution of either $25 ,$50, $100, $250 or $500 at this link : http://www.gofundme.com/bwd89o. 

It's been more than 100 years since former president Theodore Roosevelt stood on the platform at the brand new Spreckels Organ Pavilion and made what he called "an earnest plea" to San Diego.

The Panama-California Exposition, he said, "is so beautiful that I hope that not only will you keep these buildings running for another year but you will keep these buildings of rare, phenomenal taste and beauty permanently.

"As Balboa Park celebrates the Expo's centennial, many of the buildings that Roosevelt praised are still around. But their paint is peeling, their walls are cracked, aggressive mildew and dry rot are attacking the structural integrity of buildings, and the Spanish Colonial facades are deteriorating so quickly that some sizable pieces are falling off.

In a San Diego City Council meeting earlier this year, David Kinney, executive director of the park's House of Hospitality, estimated the bill for total repairs in the park could be as high as $400 million."

The mildew problem is getting worse every day," he said. "In some areas, you can just sit down and see it rotting. It's being treated as the city's poor step-sister.

"While the council listened politely as Kinney and several other park officials made a pitch for repairs, there was no offer to shift more infrastructure funds into the park, since the top priority for infrastructure spending these days is on fixing the city's streets, sidewalks and sewers.

The park's relatively low priority is ironic, considering how much emphasis city officials have been putting on the tourism, The Park attracts more than 12 million visitors annually, more than any other San Diego attraction other than all beaches combined.

The city Politicians are ignoring this funding need, making a total $160,000 appropriation in next year's budget for all Park building and and infrastructure needs.Michael Kelly, president of one of the park's support groups, The Committee of 100, says the city has dragged its heels on a number of longstanding infrastructure requests, many of which were featured in a 2013 slideshow for the council that depicted a number of areas that were in major need of repair in the park, including :

    + outer walls that had been so damaged with water that the rebar underpinnings were at risk of rusting;

   + wooden railings that are bleached and splitting, since they haven't been painted since the 1990s;

   + heavy chunks of resin that have fallen from the faux Spanish exteriors, whose flourishes are made of fiberglass and resin.

Kelly said much of the plumbing in the park is now a century old. When the water mains break, he said the city does send crews to replace the aging pipes, but the park has had to learn to live with less visible strains on the plumbing, such as toilet systems that occasionally get so clogged that entire buildings have to be shut down until they are fixed."

Our city wants people to visit Balboa Park during the centennial but has been unwilling to spend money on even the visible deferred maintenance," he said. "And much more of the infrastructure is invisible. We only hear about the condition of power, water and sewer lines when they go bad."

Become a part of San Diego history ! Support the BPHA and show your love for Balboa Park.