Naval Training Center San Diego, Military training complex in Point Loma, San Diego, United States
The Naval Training Center San Diego is a former Navy base at the north end of San Diego Bay in Point Loma, now the Liberty Station district. Its first buildings, the Historic Core, were designed in Mission Revival style and aligned along two north–south axes; later construction followed no overall plan, so some 300 buildings stand scattered or in small clusters across nearly 550 acres. Rows of low pale-walled barracks with dark hipped roofs line a straight channel of water.
Congress approved construction in 1919, and the base opened in 1923 as a training facility for Navy and Naval Reserve sailors. The site served recruit training for over seven decades, closing after the end of the Cold War.
The site's name survives in Liberty Station, the mixed-use district the City of San Diego built on the former base after its 1993 closure. The historic core keeps its Mission Revival buildings, and the old parade grounds and barracks now serve as public space. The landlocked USS Recruit, nicknamed the USS Neversail, stands on the grounds as a leftover of training days.
The site lies at the north end of San Diego Bay in Point Loma, reached by car or bus; the former base covers almost 550 acres, so distances between the Historic Core and Camp Nimitz are long. The Historic Core follows two north–south axes, and the channel and filled land lie at the water's edge. The USS Recruit stands on the grounds of Liberty Station.
A concrete warship called USS Recruit, built in 1949, still stands on solid ground within the site. The replica vessel served recruits as a training platform and remains an unusual relic from the active naval base era.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,608 contributors worldwide.