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Dates: November 14th (Tue) - 9:30am / November 16th (Thu) - 9:30am
Location: 2229 Morley Field Dr, San Diego, CA 92104
Accessible: Yes, but there will be a lot of walking. The tour is about 1.5 miles, so students should use their best judgement about their abilities to walk this far
Parking: Free parking in the lot at the end of Texas Street near the pool. ***We’ll meet there. See your email for the map!***
Introduction
Introduction
Our reading this week comes to us courtesy of Tara Gilboy. Enjoy!
This week, we are going to be visiting Morley Field, which is located just a few blocks to the east of Balboa Park.
Morley Field was named after John Morley, who served as a park superintendent in Balboa Park from 1911 to 1939 (more on him in a bit!). His guidance and inspiration for the cultivation of the park made for many of the beautiful gardens in the park today.
Bud Kearns Swimming Pool
Morley Field offers a vast variety of outdoor opportunities with 25 tennis courts, Bud Kearns swimming pool, a senior center, a tiny tots play area, group picnic areas, an archery range, a multi-purpose ball field, a velodrome (bicycle track), bocce courts, a disc golf course, a fitness course , Petanque courts, Balboa Park Golf Course, and native trails located in Florida Canyon, Golden Hill Recreation Center and Golden Hill Park.
The photo to the right is of Bud Kearns in 1940, who the pool is named after. He was a former City of San Diego Recreation Director.
Who Is John Morely?
Who Is John Morely?
Born in Newark-on-Trent, England, John Morley followed his father by pursuing a career in horticulture. In 1890, at the age of 23, the younger Morley immigrated to the United States, eventually arriving in Los Angeles.
Joining the Klondike Gold Rush, Morley spent a few unsuccessful years in the Yukon before returning to Los Angeles to resume a career in horticulture. Between 1903 and 1911, he served as assistant superintendent and, then, superintendent of the City of Los Angeles’s Department of Parks. He entered the private sector briefly before being appointed superintendent of parks for the City of San Diego.
Morley was Park Superintendent of all city parks from 1911 to 1938. He oversaw development within Balboa Park as well as La Jolla, Mission Hills and Old Town parks; the plaza opposite the U. S. Grant Hotel; and sixty-five acres on Point Loma.
One of his earliest projects included the realization of Balboa Park’s master plan prior to the opening of the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. He also established the park’s first rose garden (we visited the new Rose Garden last year!) along the slopes of the Cabrillo Canyon, and he participated in the development of the San Diego Zoo.
To the left is a picture of the Cabrillo Bridge and Cabrillo Canyon, the location of Balboa Park's first rose garden. You'll notice it is not in the same spot today.
On June 14, 1914, the San Diego Union had this to say about John Morley:
“In considering the development of San Diego's great park, which, with the growth and commercialization of the city, will be far more appreciated as a haven of rest and fragrance that it is now, it is impossible not to begin with Morley . . . Morley is the son of an English landscape expert, and has been in the same line of work all his life. Before coming to San Diego he was superintendent of parks at Los Angeles, where some of the finest landscape work that city boasts was accomplished during his incumbency . . . When he came to San Diego there was not a lawn in Balboa Park. There are now thirty acres completed . . . One of the most recent and striking additions to the park is a rose garden which when completed will contain 6,300 rose bushes and fifty different varieties.”
John Morley noted in his 1916 Annual Report, “There has been planted in the park system, including the Exposition grounds, 2,597 trees, 12,152 shrubs, and 235,253 bedding and flower plants and bulbs; and 22,625 flowering decorative plants and bulbs furnished to the Conservatory and Botanical Buildings during the year.”
But Morley did not limit his accomplishments to landscaping. From 1921 to 1923, Morley worked with architect Lincoln Rogers to design a landscape plan for the Naval Training Center (now Liberty Station), along the San Diego Bay. Under his supervision, Park Avenue (Sixth Avenue) was extended from Date Street to Juniper; West Park Boulevard (State Route 163 Cabrillo Freeway) was re-graded and a sewer system installed; and Midland Drive (Park Boulevard) was relocated. Also, he recognized the importance of effective storm drainage, noting in his 1916 Annual Report: “I believe it will be necessary in the near future to provide well built, permanent channels to control the water, as under present conditions a large amount of damage is done by the water cutting new channels and washing away large areas of land . . .”
Morley was praised in a January 1, 1924, San Diego Union, Park Section article (note the mention in the article of the area that would become Morley Field):
“In addition to its supremely beautiful landscape effects, its museum exhibits and its attractiveness for lovers of art and music, Balboa Park provides facilities for the entertainment of those who have athletic tendencies. An 18-hole golf course, a battery of six concrete surfaced tennis courts, horseshoe pitches, miles of dirt road for equestrians, and many more miles of quiet trails for pedestrians afford ample enjoyment for outdoor exercise.
In charge of this great institution that is a park, and, at the same time, a small community in itself, embracing dozens of features not commonly found in parks, stands John G. Morley, superintendent of parks. To him, in large measure, is attributed the beauty of the landscape, the excellence of the miles of roads and trails, the efficient and quiet administration of park affairs, and the high regard that all San Diegans feel toward this magnificent park.”
After many years of exemplary service, John Morley was honored when a letter was received from the “San Diegans” recommending that the Recreation Area in the northeast corner of Balboa Park be named Morley Field. In response, this resolution was adopted at the June 28, 1934 Park Commission meeting: “NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Recreation Area in Balboa Park along Upas Street from Alabama to Arnold Streets be, and it is hereby officially named ‘Morley Field.’"
Following his retirement in 1939, he was allowed to reside within Balboa Park. He died of a heart attack at his home at the age of 73.
This week, we will learn more about John Morley and the history of Morley Field. Below you can find more information about the history of Balboa Park, which Morley played a huge role in the development of.
Balboa Park History
Balboa Park History
In 1868, San Diego civic leaders took the audacious step of setting aside 1,400 acres of a scrub-filled mesa, an area that now overlooks what is downtown San Diego. While San Diego was home to just 2,300 residents (and 915 houses) back then, its leaders had the vision and desire to create an iconic park that would serve its citizens and its visitors for years to come. In fact, San Diego was the second city to dedicate a large urban park behind only New York City’s Central Park. In 1870, the state legislature passed a law stating that the lands would be held in trust for a park forever.
For many years, there was little development of "City Park" as it was then known. For much of the remainder of the 19th century, the area remained a fairly wild land preserve of hilltops, canyons and arroyos.
A high school, which later became San Diego High School, was built and several gardens were created by various private groups.
Then in 1892, local horticulturist and botanist Kate Sessions leased 36 acres for a nursery. In exchange for using the land, she agreed that the nursery would be open to the public and that she would donate hundreds of trees and plants to the city every year for its beautification. With Kate Sessions' vision, brushwood and rocky dirt were transformed into tree shaded lawns, flower gardens, and hillside nature paths. Sessions, who would become known as "the mother of Balboa Park," is credited with bringing in many of the different varieties of native and exotic plants to the park, and many of her original trees are alive and visible today.
By 1902, a Park Improvement Committee had been formed and raised funds to employ Samuel Parsons, a landscape architect, to draw up a comprehensive plan for the Park. Funds were raised and planting development continued.
In 1910, with preparations already underway to hold an expo to coincide with the opening of the Panama Canal, the park was named for the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the first European to cross Central America and see the Pacific Ocean. Several of the buildings as well as much of the present-day look and feel of the park can be attributed to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Built in the Spanish Colonial-revival style, the park’s highly ornamental style was the first of its kind in the United States. Scheduled to last only one year, the 1915 Expo was extended for a second year, and more than 3.7 million visitors came to the expo during its run.
In this seven-minute-video, you can watch silent film footage from the Library of Congress of Balboa Park during the 1915 Exposition. I was shocked by how similar it looks to today! Click here to see the video:
You may find this site interesting, as it contains a lot of historical photos of Balboa Park: https://coolsandiegosights.com/2014/12/03/historical-photos-of-balboa-park-a-century-ago/
The theme of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition was to celebrate man's progress and achievements. The Cabrillo Bridge and most of the cultural center "buildings" along El Prado were built for the exposition as well as the Spreckels Organ Pavillion, under the supervision of Bertrum Goodhue, a famous architect from New York.
Twenty years later, San Diego hosted the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition to boost the local economy during the Great Depression. Additional structures and landscaping were added to the park, including the Old Globe Theatre, International Cottages, and Spanish Village, all of which are still in use today.
In this eight-minute video, PBS's Ken Kramer talks about what buildings are still there today, what buildings are gone, and how the buildings have changed over time.
The Southern Palisades or Convention area grew out of the second fair through the efforts of Richard Requa, Director of Architecture and Landscaping, who designed with the purpose of interpreting Goodhue's scheme in terms of a series of buildings representing a complete history of the Southwest, from prehistoric times to the modern era. Many of the new buildings were reminders of Indian Pueblo architecture or were Mayan in design style.
During both World Wars the park was taken over for use by the military, and after the wars, the buildings reverted to use by cultural and recreation organizations, many of the facilities becoming the museums and institutions we see today. Extensive rehabilitation of Park buildings and facilities has been underway since 1946, and in 1960 a master plan for Balboa Park was submitted and used to continue the growth and future development of the Park. Improved landscaping, modernization of buildings and roadways, and improved pedestrian walkways and access is the result of the care and concern of the people of San Diego. With the 1960 Master Plan, $2 million was spent on Park improvement and renovations.
In 1977, Balboa Park, and historic Exposition buildings from 1915 and 1935, were declared a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Landmark District, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the park is the center for arts and culture in San Diego and is recognized by the State of California as one of its 14 cultural districts.
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