Pantoja Park is a public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

located in the Marina district in downtown

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. Originally built in 1850, it is the oldest park in San Diego. It is named for Don Juan Pantoja y Arriola, a Spanish navigator who drew the first map of

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

in 1782. The park was originally named Plaza Pantoja; in the mid-19th century, it was known as New Town Park. It contains a statue of Benito Juárez, a gift from the Mexican government in 1981. The park features a large grassy area and multiple large mature trees. It has several towering old fig trees, shrubs and flowers, benches, walking paths, and a historic Natal plum planted in the middle of the park. Two years after the formation of San Diego's Historical Resources Board, Pantoja Park was registered as the seventh San Diego Historic Landmark in 1969.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Pantoja Park History of San Diego Landmarks in San Diego Municipal parks in California Parks in San Diego Urban public parks 1850 establishments in California