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Queen Califia's Magical Circle is the only sculpture garden in the United States by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, and was her last major international project, opened posthumously in 2003 in Kit Carson Park's Iris Sankey Arboretum, Escondido. The installation centers on an 11-foot-tall mosaic-clad sculpture of the mythical Queen Califia -- California's namesake figure -- astride a rainbow-colored bird creature, surrounded by a circular mosaic 'snake wall' and maze entryway approximately 120 feet in diameter and roughly 24 feet in height, plus eight additional large-scale mosaic sculptures inspired by California's mythic and cultural history.
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Queen Califia's Magical Circle Garden
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Site-level location · 33.1400° N, 117.0796° W
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Free, outdoor public sculpture garden within a city park; open during park hours.
ACCESS
Kit Carson Park, Iris Sankey Arboretum, 3333 Bear Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025 -- near the Bear Valley Parkway/Mary Lane intersection, off the I-15 Rancho Parkway exit.
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