Carved stonework modeled on Spain's University of Salamanca frames the entrance you approach, one of the finest examples of Spanish Plateresque architecture in the United States. The museum opened in 1926, designed by William Templeton Johnson to harmonize with Bertram Goodhue's Spanish Colonial Revival buildings from the 1915 Exposition. The facade is extraordinary: intricately carved stonework modeled on the University of Salamanca in Spain, featuring figures representing Velázquez, Murillo, and Zurbarán — Spanish artists whose work is actually in the collection inside.
The permanent collection spans 20,000 works, from South Asian and Himalayan art to old masters, from American modernism to contemporary works. The museum's collection of Spanish painting is particularly strong, reflecting San Diego's deep Spanish colonial heritage. The Sculpture Court behind the museum, renovated and expanded in the 1990s, is one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the park, a sunlit garden surrounded by loggia that regularly hosts art installations, concerts, and evening events.
Admission to the museum does not include the adjoining Timken, which is separately founded and permanently free.