Zoro Garden Nudist Colony
Encyclopedia
Zoro Gardens Nudist Colony was a reputed nudist colony, composed in its first season only of comely young women, at Balboa Park's
Pacific International Exposition
in San Diego, California
.
based on contemporary newspaper accounts indicating the "colony" was composed of actual nudists, local historian Matthew Alice has stated that the women were "wearing flesh-colored bras, G-strings, or body stockings so everything was zipped up tight."
Matthew Alice is incorrect, the women were indeed topless, as countless un-doctored photographs plainly show. The women did, however, wear G-strings. The men wore tiny loincloth-type shorts.
Excerpted with permission from the book: "San Diego's Balboa Park" by David Marshall, AIA
Nate Eagle, a sideshow promoter who, with partner Stanley R. Graham, created the scandalous Zoro Gardens nudist colony. Located in a sunken garden east of the Palace of Better Housing (today's Casa de Balboa), Zoro Gardens was, according to the Zoro Gardens program, "designed to explain to the general public the ideals and advantages of natural outdoor life." Topless women and bearded men in loincloths read books, sunbathed, and acted in pseudo-religious rituals to the Sun God. According to the program, "Healthy young men and women, indulging in the freedom of outdoor living in which they so devoutly believe, have opened their colony to the friendly, curious gaze of the public." The public’s curious gaze quickly turned Zoro Gardens into the Exposition’s most lucrative outdoor attraction. Despite protests, Zoro Gardens lasted for the entire run of the Exposition. The area is now the Zoro Butterfly Garden.
The Historical Society timeline states that the county's district attorney, Thomas Whalen, inspected the "colony" the day before the opening of the world's fair in May 1935 and approved it. The next month "amateur nudists" demanded that Whalen investigate the showgirl
s as frauds, but he declined. One of the Zoro women rode through the fairgrounds at Gold Gulch
on a burro
and was arrested but was "acquitted and rode again under police supervision."
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...
Pacific International Exposition
California Pacific International Exposition (1935)
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
Opposition
Protests came from the San Diego Council of Catholic Women, the Women's Civic Center and the San Diego Braille Club, and a few days later the city manager announced that there would be no "indecent" shows in Balboa Park during the second season of the exposition, which opened in February 1936. It was announced that the 1936 nudist colony would consist of "a play of lights on beautiful figures." In that year two men joined the lineup of "nudists." On August 27, 1936, according to the timeline, the colony closed "after an argument with Exposition officials about finances."Historical analysis
Although the San Diego Historical Society has posted a timelineTimeline
A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact . It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened.-Uses of timelines:Timelines...
based on contemporary newspaper accounts indicating the "colony" was composed of actual nudists, local historian Matthew Alice has stated that the women were "wearing flesh-colored bras, G-strings, or body stockings so everything was zipped up tight."
Matthew Alice is incorrect, the women were indeed topless, as countless un-doctored photographs plainly show. The women did, however, wear G-strings. The men wore tiny loincloth-type shorts.
Excerpted with permission from the book: "San Diego's Balboa Park" by David Marshall, AIA
Nate Eagle, a sideshow promoter who, with partner Stanley R. Graham, created the scandalous Zoro Gardens nudist colony. Located in a sunken garden east of the Palace of Better Housing (today's Casa de Balboa), Zoro Gardens was, according to the Zoro Gardens program, "designed to explain to the general public the ideals and advantages of natural outdoor life." Topless women and bearded men in loincloths read books, sunbathed, and acted in pseudo-religious rituals to the Sun God. According to the program, "Healthy young men and women, indulging in the freedom of outdoor living in which they so devoutly believe, have opened their colony to the friendly, curious gaze of the public." The public’s curious gaze quickly turned Zoro Gardens into the Exposition’s most lucrative outdoor attraction. Despite protests, Zoro Gardens lasted for the entire run of the Exposition. The area is now the Zoro Butterfly Garden.
The Historical Society timeline states that the county's district attorney, Thomas Whalen, inspected the "colony" the day before the opening of the world's fair in May 1935 and approved it. The next month "amateur nudists" demanded that Whalen investigate the showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
s as frauds, but he declined. One of the Zoro women rode through the fairgrounds at Gold Gulch
Gold Gulch
Gold Gulch was the largest funfair concession built for visitors at the California Pacific International Exposition, a World's Fair that was open from 1935 to 1936, in San Diego, Southern California, United States...
on a burro
Burro
The burro is a small donkey used primarily as a pack animal. In addition, significant numbers of feral burros live in the Southwestern United States, where they are protected by law, and in Mexico...
and was arrested but was "acquitted and rode again under police supervision."