By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO— A chapel that served Navy recruits of all faiths during World War II is being preserved at the former Naval Training Center.  The first wedding is expected to be held in the facility in May, according to Craig W. Clark, president of the commercial real estate development company that is refurbishing the chapel as part of a contract to convert adjacent barracks building into a market place.

Clark, jovial during a groundbreaking ceremony today that drew San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and City Councilman Kevin Faulconer, served 10 years in the Navy himself.  He said he believes at least six dozen classmates of his either were commanding officers or executive officers of the old Naval Training Center, and that his own father had been at Naval Training Center and had attended chapel there.

 
      Craig W. Clark                      City Councilman Kevin Faulconer                    Mayor Jerry Sanders

Built in 1942, the chapel provided religious comfort for over a half century to recruits who came to NTC  for recruit training.  Clark said it will be used primarily by a church after it is refurbished, but that it also will be available for bar mitzvahs, non-church weddings and other events.

It seems unlikely too many bar mitzvahs will be held there, given the fact that the original stained glass windows in the main sanctuary and in the side chapel primarily invoke Christian images.  Jewish services may have been conducted there during World War II, but subsequently, they were moved to other buildings on the base.  

Sue Brown, who served as a cantorial soloist for Navy congregations, said when she first arrived at the NTC in 1991, services were held in another old building.  Subsequently, they were transferred to a modern multi-faith building where the Jewish congregation had its own designated area.  In 1993, however, the Base Realignment and Consolidation Commission (BRAC) recommended closure of the NTC. The base was phased  out during a period that stretched to 1997, when it was turned over to the City of San Diego, which subsequently contracted for its redevelopment with Corky McMillin Companies.  C.W. Clark, Inc., is a subcontractor.

The former NTC, now called Liberty Station, lies along San Diego Bay. It  is renowned as the home of the USS Recruit, the 225-foot long, two-thirds-scale training ship, set in concrete, where generations of recruits learned the difference between a bow and a stern.  The ship is affectionately nicknamed the SS Neversail.

Mayor Sanders described the former NTC as a "piece of history that all of us feel needs to be preserved.  It is a great place for us to remember, and for veterans to remember—so many of them came through here." Noting that NTC was turned over by the Navy to the City of San Diego, Sanders said when all the components of the project are completed, it will include not only businesses, residences, state-of-the-art schools, shops and restaurants, but also a 46-acre waterfront park and a 16-acre promenade  that will run the length of the property.

Councilman Faulconer said the Liberty Station Marketplace is "another of the public benefits that are accruing from this project.... Next year will really be the year when all the public benefits come to fruition."

Consulting architect Brian Rickling said work on the 6,200-square-foot chapel will include installation of a new heating and air conditioning system "hidden under the pews and in the crawl space" in order to preserve architectural integrity.


The chapel entrance and side exterior are shown in this views, photographed today (March 15, 2006)

"We will preserve all the historic elements of the building," he said. "The roof tiles are historic, the leaded glass windows are being restored and renovated and put back in the original position.  The pew, the beamed ceilings, the altar space at the front of the church—all of these we are maintaining."

The few changes being made are to make the building more accessible to those with physical disabilities. Ramps are being built to the bathrooms, for example.

The chapel sits adjacent to former barracks buildings that C.W. Clark, Inc., is converting into Liberty Station Marketplace which will include several restaurants, a Vons grocery store, a Trader Joe's and other shops. Clark said the Vons will be unique because it will be built on both sides of an existing courtyard—perhaps the first supermarket in the country to be physically divided by open space.  Construction administrator Rocky Jackson said the outdoor courtyard potentially could be used for a seating area, flower stalls and other kiosks.