WELCOME
TO
BEAUTIFUL
BALBOA
History of Balboa
1513
1888
1902
1905
1905
2023
Spanish explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa sighted the Pacific Ocean.
The McFadden family decide to build the McFadden Wharf for commerce and trade.
James McFadden sells half of the Peninsula to William Collins. Collins decides to partner with Henry E. Huntington in the Newport Beach company. Huntington then acquired the Pacific Railway system and it was used to promote Newport to communities outside of Los Angeles.
Collins began dredging a channel on the north side of the bay and deposited the sand and silt on tidelands that would become Balboa Island.
The Balboa Pavilion opened to the public. Contrary to original sights of becoming a Victorian bath house and terminal in connection to The Pacific Electric Red Car Line, The Pavilion was converted into a famed dance hall. The Balboa Pavilion was, and is to this day, an iconic focal point of Balboa.
Today, Balboa or "the Peninsula" is a home and a memorable place to see.
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