History of Liberty Station
In 1915, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, first surveyed San Diego as a possible site for the next Naval Training Station. Generous donations of land the persistence of Congressman William Kettner plans were drafted and approved for the training cente.r
The Naval Training Center helped shape San Diego as well as help the cause of freedom here and abroad. Construction began in 1921 and in 1923 the first recruits arrived. The first buildings included a mess hall, first four barracks buildings, the dispensary, the fire station and the guards quarters, among others. The first four schools included preliminary radio, yeoman, bugler and band.
The training center was expanded and modernized in the 1930's. A new mess hall, library, Protestant and Catholic Church, medical units, heating plan and offices were added.
From 1941-1945, the Naval Training Station continued to grow to accommodate the need for sailors. In September, 1942, the population reached 33, 000, which is the most the station would see . 25000 were young recruits. The station tripled in size. There were 41 schools established to meet theneeds of recruit training.
Liberty Stations is an architectural master-piece of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Lincoln Rogers and Frank Stevenson, a Point Loma native were commissioned by the Navy to create a distinctie style for the Naval Training Center. Heavily influenced by Bertram G. Goodhue's design for the building of the 1917 California Exposition in Balboa Park, more than 50 original buildings are restored today to preserve the magnificent work of a group of talented architects.
