Landscape Information
Adjacent to the San Diego Museum of Art and the Mingei International Museum, the garden was originally created for the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition. It was renamed when it was redesigned by architect Richard Requa for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition – a reference to the gardens of Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain, which served as the garden’s inspiration.
The centerpieces of the formal garden design, accessible via symmetrical paths, are two ornate fountains adorned with turquoise blue, yellow and green Moorish tiles of 28 different designs. The fountains are on the central axis of the garden and aligned with a raised shade pergola draped in weeping vines. The paths are edged by planting beds which are bordered with clipped boxwood hedges, and are richly planted with herbaceous plants for year-round color display. In 1936 Requa also added eight tile benches placed at 45-degree angles to the fountains (echoing his work at the nearby House of Hospitality Patio), and two cement arches, each on axis with the fountains, which frame entry into the garden. The garden underwent a complete restoration in 2008.
