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"San Diego's crown jewel" is undergoing major changes.
According to FOX5, more than a dozen improvement projects are underway or already completed at Balboa Park.
On Thursday, November 18, Mayor Todd Gloria led a tour of the projects, which city officials are referring to as the "Balboa Park Renaissance."
“When people think of San Diego, one of the first places their minds take them is Balboa Park,” Gloria said during the tour. “We owe it to residents and visitors alike to make sure the reality matches the idea.”
Some improvements include the revamping of the San Diego Automotive Museum, Municipal Gym, and upcoming Comic-Con Museum.
The House of Pacific Relations International Cottages which showcase national traditions from different cultures added nine new cottages for the nations of Chamorros, India, Peru, Panama, Philippines, Mexico, India, and Palestine.
Construction on the Botanical Building will start in January that will "restore the iconic structure to its original 1915 grandeur, including the reinstallation of historic elements and architectural features."
The city also listed other improvements to Balboa Park in a news release:
- A reimagining of the San Diego Zoo’s former Children’s Zoo, which is currently in the works
- A $4 million rehabilitation of theBud Kearns pool in Morley Field, which is nearly complete
- A landscaping project at the Natural History Museum with native plants, which is in the planning stages
- The recently reopenedHeikoff Giant Dome Theater at the Fleet Science Center, which now has audio and video projection enhancements