NTC Foundation officials have received a long-awaited report about the possible future uses of the historic Luce Auditorium at Liberty Station. The report includes proposals for future uses of the 1,800-seat auditorium that once played host to the likes of Bob Hope, Nat “King” Cole and many other big names during the peak years of the former Naval Training Center.
A final analysis of the report that will be presented for community comment should be ready by late summer, foundation officials said.
The consulting firm of Albert Hall & Associates completed the estimated $42,000 reuse feasibility study and handed it to NTC Foundation officials last month. The document proposes possible future tenants for multiple-use performance and/or film venues, said NTC Foundation executive director Alan Ziter.
The report, which would be shared with the community after final approval from the NTC Foundation’s board of directors, also contains a detailed financial analysis, Ziter said.
“We need the staff and board to recommend which we want to move forward with and why and share that information with the community later this summer,” Ziter said.
The NTC Foundation will meet in mid-August, when Ziter plans to present the report to the board, he said.
Community meetings would soon follow to inform the community and take comments on what the building should be in the end. A date for the community meeting has not been set, he said.
The Luce could fulfill multiple community or private uses.
“I’m hoping to create a multi-venue. Technology allows for quite a bit of flexibility these days,” Ziter said.
Requirements to keep the historical structure of the building intact continue to be a challenge for engineers.
Ziter said he would like to see an auditorium that could “go back” to being a 1,800-seat auditorium if need be.
Point Loma community residents helped pay for the study by donating as much as $25 to $5,000 to the foundation.
About $15,000 in the form of a grant from the city’s Commission for Arts and Culture, as well as grants from San Diego County, helped fund restoration efforts for the Luce Auditorium, according to city documents.
About 1,800 Navy recruits at a time watched training films on a daily basis in the historic building. Great entertainers such as Tommy Dorsey and Kay Kyser also lit up the Luce, according to officials.
The auditorium is named after Stephen Baker Luce, who served the Navy from the age of 14 until he was 90 years old. Luce is also recognized for his contributions to naval education in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
For more information, visit www.ntcpromenade.com.