The Park of María Luisa consists partly of the gardens of the Palacio de San Telmo, donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by Princess María Luisa (the Duchess of Montpensier) and added to Seville's urban landscape in 1911. The and a greenhouse with metal structure were created in 1893. In 1910, the park was chosen as the main location for the future Hispano-American Exhibition which would take place in 1929.

In January 1911, the executive commission of the Exhibition launched the process to convert the park in readiness for the event. Aníbal González was appointed as director for the architectural part of the exhibition and Jean-Claude Nicolás Forestier, a French landscaper, and the chief gardener of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, was chosen for the gardening.

The works took place 1912 and 1922. The French landscaper turned what had been palatial gardens into a public park. Forestier did not impose a French classicist tone, in fact he adapted his work to Seville's climate and to the landscape, gave it a romantic touch, finding inspiration in the gardens of the , the and certain stately homes in the city. Certain parts of park, such as the Glorieta de los lotos, the Jardín de los Leones and the Fuente de las Ranas date back from this time.

The first phase was inaugurated on 18 April 1914, during the fair that year. In 1914, work also began on the . The following buildings were constructed in the Plaza de América for the Ibero-American Exhibition: the Mudejar Pavilion, built between 1911 and 1916, the Royal Pavilion and the Pavilion of Fine Arts.

En 1915, Forestier designed his project to expand the Park into land lying adjacent to the Plaza de España. A number of different monuments with literary and cultural references were also put up until the Exhibition opened its doors in 1929, including the Monument to Bécquer (1911), Monument to Cervantes (1916), Monument to Masy Prat (1924) and the Hermanos Álvarez Quintero Monument (1925-26). Further monuments would be built in later years.