Liberty Station’s naval past: Sailors, stories and the Silver Screen

Visitors walking through Liberty Station pass white stucco barracks, red-tile roofs, and long former drill fields that once formed the core of the Navy’s West Coast boot camp — a campus that also drew Hollywood filmmakers seeking authentic naval settings.

From 1923 until its closure in 1997, the site operated as the Naval Training Center San Diego, where hundreds of thousands of recruits began their military service.

Moving In

The base opened in 1923 in Point Loma and grew into one of the Navy’s primary recruit training facilities. During World War II, large numbers of sailors moved through the campus for instruction in seamanship, physical conditioning, and military discipline before deployment.

The installation functioned as a self-contained training environment, with barracks, classrooms, mess halls, medical facilities, and expansive outdoor drill areas.

USO and More Hollywood

Life on base also included organized recreation and morale programs. The Navy, often working with the USO, brought entertainers to San Diego installations to perform for service members stationed far from home.

Music, comedy, and touring acts were a regular part of military life during the war years. One recruit recalled in 1943:

“We marched every morning until our boots wore out, but the bands on weekends kept our spirits up. Those USO shows meant the world to us.”

One of a Kind

Architecturally, the campus stood apart from many other military facilities. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the complex featured a swimming pool, main library, arcaded walkways, clay tile roofs, and uniform façades.

That cohesive look, along with San Diego’s longstanding identity as a Navy town, made local military installations attractive backdrops for film and television projects seeking authentic settings.

Big Productions

San Diego’s naval facilities have appeared in a range of productions over the decades. The sitcom C.P.O. Sharkey, starring Don Rickles, was set at the Naval Training Center, and opening footage was filmed on the base. Other military-themed productions have filmed at various San Diego–area installations, reflecting Hollywood’s periodic reliance on active-duty facilities for realism.

When the Navy closed the training center in 1997 under the federal Base Realignment and Closure process, the future of the 361-acre property was uncertain. The city of San Diego acquired the site and began a long-term adaptive reuse effort that preserved much of the historic core while introducing residential, educational, and commercial uses.

Fast Forward

Today, the former parade grounds remain open space. Barracks buildings have been converted into galleries, offices, and community venues. The redevelopment retained the historic layout and architectural character, allowing the site’s military past to remain visible within its current civilian use.

Liberty Station functions as a neighborhood center, but its physical framework still reflects the decades when recruits marched across its drill fields and trained for service overseas.

Sources

Naval Training Center San Diego historical overview, Journal of San Diego History
Naval Training Center San Diego — historical summary and operational history
Liberty Station redevelopment background materials
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) documentation, U.S. Department of Defense
C.P.O. Sharkey production information and filming background