POINT LOMA – Liberty Station’s historic North Chapel, closed since the previous tenant proposed modernizing the building to convert it into a restaurant and event venue, has been reopened and repurposed.
The World War II-era North Chapel accommodates 320 guests for weddings, services, meetings, or other special occasions. Since 1942, the building has hosted Navy services, weddings, memorials, and numerous other community events.
The chapel was officially reopened last December by Michael Esposito, founder of Snake Oil Venue Co. He is also co-founder and chief executive officer of Snake Oil Cocktail Co.
Esposito took over for the previous tenant, 828 Events, which had proposed altering the historical building to adapt it for possible new uses. That notion drew serious blowback from some preservationists and neighbors, who dismissed the character-altering chapel proposal as being insensitive and inappropriate to the building and its original design and mission.
Esposito and Tana Lorah, Snake Oil’s chief operating officer, described a lengthy process involved in reconfiguring and updating the non-denominational chapel, which features vaulted ceilings and original wood floors, without altering its essential character or original mission.
Esposito said he and his team took a measured approach in reassessing, redefining, and rebranding the building.
“We did a lot of outreach to the stakeholders,” he said. Snake Oil’s emphasis on remodeling was on paying respect to the space, which involved keeping the chapel historically significant. “We refurbished the chapel, bringing a lot of it back to life.”
“We feel the changes we made have brought the chapel back, maybe closer to the way it was originally,” said Lorah. “We did an incredible amount, 11 months, of due diligence working with the city, community groups, and the Navy.”
Bride Aislin Oakley inside the historic North Chapel. (Photo by Jane & Kolya Shukan/Theshukans.Weddings)
Lorah said Snake Oil asked stakeholders what they wanted them to do in refurbishing the chapel’s space.
“People overwhelmingly told us they wanted historical preservation with the building to remain intact,” she said. “We agreed that it was time to do adaptive reuse, and decided we’d be extra thoughtful about how we did it.”
Of their new vision for the building’s reuse, Esposito said that it included keeping North Chapel non-denominational.
“We wanted to be able to open it up to all different kinds of celebrations of the most important moments in life, whether that be a Navy commissioning, or a wedding, or a baptism,” he said. “We took that very seriously.”
Esposito noted that the chapel has sentimental value for a great many people.
“I’ve had people say to me, ‘My mom and dad got married here, or my grandfather was stationed here,” he said. “So, we wanted to make sure that we were doing justice to the building and its design, continuing its legacy.”
“One of our goals was obviously to bring the chapel back to its natural beauty,” noted Lorah. “We modernized it by putting in ADA-accessible restrooms, fire alarms, and creating more ways for people to access the building safely.
“There were a lot of strikes, stops, and starts involved in making sure we carefully handled every component of this building-improvement project.”
Esposito said remodeling North Chapel took about 14 weeks from the start of construction. “But pre-construction planning took 1 1/2 years – it was not a fast process,” Lorah added.
“We’re just so honored to be part of restoring this part of Liberty Station’s history,” Esposito said. “We’re really thankful for the opportunity.”
