Arts District Liberty Station San Diego

Arts District Liberty Station
Established in 1923, Naval Training Center San Diego (NTC) – with its barracks, commissary, classrooms, command center, and parade grounds — was a landmark in San Diego for most of the 20th century. When in the base closed officially in 1997, the City of San Diego hired the Corky McMillin Companies to redevelop the property that came to be called Liberty Station. The NTC legacy, more than a century in the making, lives on in the Naval and military history of the campus, the buildings and architecture being redeveloped for contemporary usage, and in the stories of servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Honoring the past means creating a meaningful legacy for all of those who gave so much.

In 2000, the NTC Foundation was established to create a “Civic, Arts, and Cultural Center,” as part of the redevelopment effort called Liberty Station. This mission-driven nonprofit has played a unique dual role in leading the mixed-use adaptive redevelopment of 26 historical buildings entrusted to the foundation, while also bringing cultural vibrancy to the region through programming focused on commissioning public art, supporting the rising generation of creatives, and increasing access to arts engagement opportunities for youth. What began as a real estate project has grown into an organization and a campus both called Arts District Liberty Station. Looking ahead to our 25th anniversary, we’re excited to celebrate the opening of the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center (“The Joan”); welcome our largest cohort of artist residencies (in visual arts and dance); and showcase the two latest “Installations at the Station” pieces in our public art series. The celebration of a quarter-century of hard work, learning, and progress is a wonderful opportunity to share a bold vision for the future we’re building here.

Our vision is to be a world-class arts district in the transborder region where creativity, culture, and community thrive. As a foundation, our purpose is fostering, facilitating, and funding the work of individuals and organizations, institutions and entrepreneurs that share our goal of making Arts District Liberty Station a regional hub in our vibrant creative economy. By providing access to work and studio spaces, offering grant funding and other opportunities, hosting convenings for learning and sharing, and enabling tenants to access capacity-building support in areas like promotions and partnership development, we’re catalyzing the vision we believe in. Anchored in our mission, the Arts District is a cultural center, a gathering place, an economic driver, and a valued partner in civic innovation and community development… the heart of Liberty Station.

Our Mission
The mission of Arts District Liberty Station is to activate a dynamic and historic campus where enriching cultural experiences, impactful learning opportunities, and inspiring events are accessible to all.

Our Vision
Our vision is to be a world-class arts district in the transborder region where creativity, culture, and community thrive.

Bravo Zulu- Celebrating 10 Years
Take a look back and see where we started with acres of shuttered Navy buildings and how they have been transformed to a vibrant and thriving hub for arts and culture. And see what’s ahead for this burgeoning destination.