The Lily Pond

The Botanical Building in Balboa Park was envisioned by Alfred Robinson, president of the San Diego Floral Society, for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and remains one of the largest lath structures in the world. The reflecting pond in front of the building, popular for mirror-like reflections of the facade, was twice converted to a swimming pool during the World Wars. A recent lily pond renovation drew mixed reactions from residents, some of whom raised concerns about ongoing parking issues in the area.

The Lily Pond in Balboa Park was constructed for the 1915-16 Exposition alongside the adjacent Botanical Building and Lagoon, originally known as Las Lagunas de las Flores and designed as aquatic gardens. The neighboring Botanical Building, designed by architects Bertram Goodhue and Carleton M. Winslow, Sr., underwent restoration from summer 2022 through winter 2024. The pond itself had not received a complete cleaning in approximately fifteen years before its February 2026 maintenance, so visits in the months following will capture the water and surrounding area in freshly tended condition.

The 193-by-43-foot Lily Pond in Balboa Park, a feature dating from the 1915-16 Exposition, sits beside the Botanical Building, whose spaced louvers admit light to 2,000+ plants inside. The original long steel and glass greenhouse that projected from the back of the central portion has since been removed, leaving the louvered wooden structure as the building's defining element. The combination of a long rectangular water surface and dappled light filtering through the louvers across the surrounding vegetation gives photographers a shifting set of conditions through the day.