Continue a few yards north along the sidewalk and to your right you'll come to the House of Hospitality building. You are now on El Prado and in the heart of the Park. The House of Hospitality houses the Balboa Park visitor center, as well as the upscale Prado restaurant. In the building's courtyard, you can take in the Spanish Moor architecture (it was completely restored and reconstructed several years back) and picturesque fountain. The Prado restaurant is the Park's place for fine dining (the food is very good), and on sunny days, the patio dining can't be beat.
But we have some walking to do. So head back out to El Prado - on the east end it is pedestrian only, and start walking to your right (east). The next building, Casa de Balboa, you'll find the Museum of Photographic Arts, one of the few museums devoted to the photographic arts, as well as the San Diego Historical Society, and the Model Railroad Museum - a great place to take the kids.
By now, you've probably noticed the columned arcade walkways and the ornate architecture - all of it remnants (in some form of restoratation) of two early world's fairs, the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition. The Spanish Moor architecture gives Balboa Park its flavor, not to mention the rest of San Diego.
