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Organization will be offering tours of historic Balboa Park

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History and architecture buffs will have a special opportunity to enjoy tours and talks about Balboa Park on March 28 and 29.

These tours and talk will be repeated again on June 6 and 7.

These events are being offered by the Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) as part of centennial of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

There are four architectural tours, exploring unusual and often overlooked aspects of Balboa Park history. There are three 90-minute walking tours that include architecture, decorative arts, gardens and intriguing, little-known facets of park history. These tours are limited to 25 participants. The walking tours are $15 each.

There is also a 90-minute trolley tour that is $25. The trolley tour will go outside the park and show its passengers the homes and work places of the people who made the first exposition possible.

Tours begin at 10 a.m. and are repeated at 2 p.m., to allow you to take all four tours as well as attend the evening lectures.

The tours are “The Romance of the Expo: Courtyards, Tiles & Fountains,” which explores everything from domes to projects by architect Richard Requa in the House of Hospitality and the art deco fountain in the Ford Building; “Balboa Park: Hidden in Plain Sight,” which takes a look at the hidden historical details around Balboa Park; “The Garden Fair: A Living Legacy,” which takes a look at the remnants of the park’s original landscapes for the expositions of 1915 and 1935; and “They Slept Here: The Movers, Shakers & Designers of Balboa Park,” the trolley tour that shows off the homes and workplaces of people who created and worked on the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

There’s also something for history buffs as there will be four historical lectures, two each evening at 5 and 7 p.m.

The lectures are $15 each or $50 for all four, which includes the reception.

The first lecture, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, will feature Mike Kelly, president of the Committee of One Hundred, a Balboa Park historic preservation group, telling the story of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

At 7 p.m., David Marshall, president of Heritage Architecture & Planning, offers a postcard tour of the exposition.

On Sunday, March 29, the 5 p.m. lecture will feature Vonn Marie May, a cultural landscape specialist, discussing a landscape design and botanical promotion.

The final lecture, at 7 p.m., will feature M. Wayne Donaldson, an architect, chair of the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and former California State Historic Preservation Officer, talking about the architecture of the exposition buildings.

A wine and cheese reception will be held between the lectures at 6 p.m. each day, allowing guests to mingle in between speakers and to celebrate together the weekend events.

Advance purchase of tickets is recommended, as both the tours and lectures have limited space.

Tickets can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/marchsohotours.

For more information, visit www.SOHOsandiego.org or call 619-297-9327.

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