{"id":502408,"date":"2026-01-08T23:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T23:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/502408\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T23:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T23:20:18","slug":"from-naval-training-center-to-arts-hub-liberty-station-marks-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/502408\/","title":{"rendered":"From naval training center to arts hub: Liberty Station marks 25 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a century ago, San Diego\u2019s Naval Training Center, often referred to as the \u201cCradle of the Navy,\u201d<\/a> welcomed its first recruits.<\/p>\n

Now known as Arts District Liberty Station<\/a>, the former military base is celebrating its 25th year. As part of the milestone, the district is running a fundraising initiative through May 2026 to raise $250,000<\/a> to support its programs that uplift communities across the San Diego-Tijuana region.<\/p>\n

\"Mural<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Arts District Liberty Station<\/p>\n

A mural titled “No Soy Marinero, Soy Capit\u00e1n” by artist PANCA is shown at Arts District Liberty Station in an undated photo.<\/p>\n

CEO Lisa Johnson said the arts district has come a long way from its past as a training center.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-five years ago, you would have been in waders slogging through mud, and it’s hard for people to conceptualize that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat’s what it looked like (compared) to where we are today, this beautiful, thriving arts and culture district.\u201d<\/p>\n

The money being raised is not only for arts-related programming, but also to support its role as a state-recognized cultural district<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than 100 acres have been dedicated to cultivating the creative district and repurposing the buildings for public use, bringing an estimated 2.1 million visitors<\/a> each year, according to the organization.<\/p>\n

So far, the site has transformed 18 of its 26 historic buildings, largely through philanthropic support. The newest building is the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center<\/a>, formerly Naval Building 178. It is now a freestanding live performance space with two theaters.<\/p>\n

Katrina Bruins is the executive director of the Visions Museum of Textile Art <\/a>and one of arts district’s first tenants. She said the campus creates multiple entry points into the arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of those little sectors brings a different form of community, and those grow and expand what’s possible here,\u201d Bruins said. \u201cThey really bring in new people into the arts district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Katrina<\/p>\n

Katrina Bruins, executive director of the Visions Museum of Textile Art, stands in the gallery space on Dec. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n

The transformation of Liberty Station began in 1993<\/a>, when the U.S. Navy announced plans to close the Naval Training Center under the Base Closure and Realignment Act. The City of San Diego entered into a lease agreement with the Navy in 1995 to ensure the property would continue to serve the public.<\/p>\n

In 2000, the site was officially transferred to the city and renamed Liberty Station, a move aimed at
attracting residents, visitors and investment.<\/p>\n

Johnson said the arts district still carries the same mission as the former training center \u2014 education, but with a new purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to say that we’ve returned education to a training base, just in the form of arts and culture,\u201d Johnson said, \u201cinstead of how to make a bomb or how to run a ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

Courtesy\u00a0of the San Diego Historical Society<\/p>\n

Black-and-white photographic print shows the parade grounds at the U.S. Naval Training Center in San Diego, circa 1925. Naval recruits are arranged to spell out “Naval Training Station.”<\/p>\n

One of those educational opportunities is Liberty School<\/a> which gives underserved youth a space to learn about arts and culture from artists at Liberty Station.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives them an opportunity to express themselves in different ways,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cwhich many students don’t (have) because a lot of arts programming was removed from schools a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathy Krentler is a longtime board member of Liberty Station and a Point Loma resident. She said Liberty Station honors the city\u2019s past while shaping its present.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an important part of everyone, never forgetting that we have a naval history in this town,\u201d Krentler said,\u201cbut, we really have helped the broader arts community in San Diego grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arts District Liberty Station is also known for its free parking and its year-round 24-hour open-air gallery through its art installation program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another program supported by the campaign is the Emerging Artists Residency<\/a>, which provides early-career artists with a rent-free studio for six months.<\/p>\n

\"Emerging<\/p>\n

Eden DeLaVara stands in front of her artwork in a studio at Liberty Station on Dec. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n

Eden DeLaVara<\/a> completed her residency this past year. She first applied in 2024 but was not accepted. She continued to make art and reapplied in 2025, when she was selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m no longer creating work in isolation,\u201d DeLaVara said. \u201cI think that makes me feel really appreciative for this space because I’m able to see the impact of my work and what I’m actually offering to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeLaVara is the same age as the arts district and remembers visiting Liberty Station as a child, imagining what it might be like to have her own studio there.<\/p>\n

She specializes in oil painting and recently began working in fiber arts, including quilting. She said her goal is to create a sense of belonging and inspire traditions that can be carried forward<\/p>\n

\u201cI see myself kind of stitched into that as someone who is aligning with wanting to be in San Diego for a long time and investing in the next generation of artists,\u201d DeLaVara said.<\/p>\n

\"Ariel<\/p>\n

Malik Earnest<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Arts District Liberty Station<\/p>\n

An aeriel view of Arts District Liberty Station is shown in an undated photo.<\/p>\n

A community-centered gala will be held on April 30, 2026, celebrating the artists, educators and civic leaders who helped transform Liberty Station into what it is today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a century ago, San Diego\u2019s Naval Training Center, often referred to as the \u201cCradle of the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":502409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-502408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-sandiego","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115862046559199758","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}