The Bell Tower and Alcazar Gardens in Balboa Park (By Frank Sabatini Jr.)
Landmarks, Balboa Park

Balboa Park Tops The Charts

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

When you think about the most alluring landmarks for picture-taking in the U.S., subjects such the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Grand Canyon immediately come to mind.

Yet according to a recent Yelp survey that gathered image data from across its web site, Balboa Park came out No. 1 on a list of the “50 most photographed landmarks in the U.S. and Canada.”

It beat out the above-mentioned sights in addition to Seattle’s Space Needle, Hearst Castle, Hoover Dam, Pearl Harbor, Times Square, and many others.

According to the data, 10,178 photos of our beautiful plot of land turned up on the park’s Yelp page. The figure far exceeded the number of photos seen on the pages of competing attractions.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was elated over the ranking when he learned about it, thus posting on his Facebook page that the nation’s leading landmarks “don’t have anything on Balboa Park!” He extended his thanks to “city workers, volunteers, and nonprofit partners who work hard to keep our park beautiful for residents and visitors to enjoy.”