Balboa Park: Centennial Reflections, 1915-2015
May 17, 2014
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably
not themselves be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work,
remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but
long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever growing
insistence. …Daniel Burnham
Mike Stepner, our moderator, is a Professor and Dean Emeritus at NewSchool. In his studio class last spring the students in his class addressed the issues and situations that will shape the future of the park and connect the natural environment and the historically-built environment with the adjacent neighborhoods. He will begin by introducing some of the students’ ideas which centered around growing the park, improving accessibility, and connecting the park to the adjacent neighborhoods.
Mike will then be joined by three of the speakers who gave presentations in our Panama-California Exposition Centennial series: James Hubbell, Mike Kelly and Vicki Estrada. They will start by talking about what happened in San Diego in the last 100 years as a result of the Exposition, but because of recent events—the demise of the committee planning the celebration and the uncertainty of what the celebration will be like—the discussion will take a different focus. What should happen, not just what a celebration should be, but what should the future of the park be and how can that future of the park influence the future of the city?
Neil Morgan, long-time San Diego journalist who passed away earlier this year, commented that San Diegans often asked themselves, “What do we want to be when we grow up?” Stepner laments that we are great at asking and answering the question, but we do not take the next steps.
We are looking forward to the panel suggesting the next steps. Stepner, Hubbell, Kelly and Estrada, I am sure, will come up with some proposals worthy of action, but they need the support of those sitting in the audience and people throughout the city to “take action”. It is past time to agree with ideas and do nothing. The future of Balboa Park and the future of the city are intertwined. Lots of projects have been sitting on the shelves. Now is the time to make a list of priorities and start working on them. Leaders, like these four, cannot do it alone.
In the coming months, there will be other organizations discussing what we are now. Join in the conversations, come up with ideas, volunteer your services to help move projects forward. Get your friends involved.