Butterflies took over a nudist colony in San Diego
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The butterfly garden at Balboa Park used to be a nudist colony. Photo: Kate Murphy/Axios
Here's the naked truth on Balboa Park's Zoro Garden in San Diego:
The intrigue: The sunken, stone-grotto butterfly garden was originally built as a nudist colony for the 1935 California-Pacific Exposition — not to be confused with the 1915 California-Panama Exposition that put San Diego on the map.
- During the exposition, visitors paid to watch nudist performers in shows at the open-air amphitheater.
- Now, you'll just see monarch, sulfur, skipper and swallowtail butterflies fluttering around.
What they're saying: "Zoro Garden's current residents are equally colorful (but less controversial!)," Balboa Park's website says.
Fun fact: According to historians of the naturist movement, Zoro Gardens was the world's only known nudist colony to sell tickets to spectators.
Zoom in: Between shows, the nudists played games, cooked and lounged around the garden.
- Yes, but: Historical photos reveal they were rarely, if ever, fully nude — they usually wore G-strings and loincloths.
Between the lines: The exhibit reportedly closed in 1936 due to alleged financial disputes with exposition officials.
- The space has been a butterfly garden since 1997.
