An art mecca fifteen minutes away from Coronado? Yes, it’s Liberty Station at the Naval Training Center (NTC) in Point Loma. The area was touted to me as being “as wonderful as Balboa Park, but with better parking.” I had no idea that there was a space here created for art, music, and culture. Curious as to its origins, I learned that this art community at Liberty Station is part of nine art districts defined by the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. When NTC was returned to the city incrementally between 1995 – 1997, the Barracks and the Promenade were designated as an arts and culture area.
My question was: Was this really worth driving over the bridge for?
Intrigued, I rustled up Coronado local (and my sister) Stephanie Anderson and her sons, Ward and Clark door-to-barracks, and drove the quick drive to experience Liberty Station’s Friday Night Liberty events. Even on a Friday evening at 5:00, it was only a 15-minute door-to-barracks drive.
Running the first Friday of every month, the Friday Night Liberty event features art museums with no admission charge, and other art and culture experiences, such as live music and craft vendors, were present to provided a pleasant evening in, and around, the Spanish Rival architecture.
“As wonderful as Balboa Park” is a bit of an exaggeration. I would say that it is still “up-and-coming,” not nearly as substantial as Balboa Park — but there is plenty of parking and each museum has a unique niche that I really enjoyed. I may not have been looking at grand master artists, but I was impressed by the more contemporary focus.
While different arts and culture events take place each time, the events for the first Friday of June included the grand opening of San Diego Comic Art Gallery. This exhibit draws part of its inspiration from Comic-Con, which is an iconic part of San Diego’s art and tourism scene. San Diego resident and the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman, was available for discussion and pictures at the opening of the Comic Art Gallery, which had a vast array of comic art depicting the Ninja Turtles. There were a plethora of younger children at this museum, yet I have to say the children, but not the adults, were probably disappointed. The exhibit was very good, but was directed at an adult, rather than youth, audience. You can read more about this particular museum in this Union-Tribune article.
I also toured the Women’s Museum which portrayed provocative images challenging gender stereotypes. It was jarring at first, but once I settled down into what the artist was trying to convey, it was intriguing. There are nudes in this exhibt and some images of a babies-in-the-womb juxtaposed with images meant to challenge typical norms of femininity, so I think for elementary and many middle schoolers, parental caution is advised. For adults and high schoolers, this current exhibit could engender a lot of great discussions.
The Visions Art Museum had fascinating, modern artistic expressions of fabric art. Those interested in quilt and fabric art will really appreciate this museum. There was also the baseball-oriented exhibit in the New Americans Museum. This particular exhibit was about diversity in baseball, but the overall focus of the museum is to “promote understanding and interaction between newcomers and native-born Americans while helping our newest citizens connect with and prosper in their new homeland.” Recent graduate from Coronado Middle School, Ward Anderson had this to say about the exhibit: “The baseball museum had some cool baseball cards, but overall I didn’t really like it. There was a lot of text rather than anything interactive.”
There was live music, whether a full band, or a soloist on keyboard, enhancing the evening in various locations. There was a poetry reading as well as opportunities to create your own art. There was also plenty of art and jewelry for sale.
My overall review of Friday Nights at NTC is that is was a great event for adults, but not necessarily for the whole family. And while I say a great evening for adults, it’s probably the best fit for adults with some interest in art. I went with my sister and nephews. If I was going with my husband, dinner at the Stone Brewery and Bistro would have to be a promised culmination of the evening. Of course, that would be a win-win proposition; the Stone Brewery is pretty awesome.
This best part of the Stone Brewery is that there is so much going on, that you don’t even need to like beer.
I’m going on the assumption that your familiar with their craft beer, so I’ll address what else is amazing about this place and note that it’s kid friendly. You have two options of seating, inside or outside. If you have kids, you’ll want to take the outside choice. Why? There are vast open spaces, including a river that trickles through a rock bed. The floor itself is dirt, so no need to worry about scuffing up the floor and inside. They also have scheduled family movie nights. If the kids are bored waiting for their dinner, the geniuses at Stone Brewery have a bocce ball area ready to go. One caveat, though: call ahead to make sure the bocce ball space available before you promise it to any of your little diners. When we were there, my teenage nephews were sorely disappointed that the bocce ball court had been reserved for a private event.
But besides Stone Brewery there are multitude of restaurants. The Corvette Diner, formally of Hillcrest, has relocated there. The Fig Tree Eatery is one of my favorites for lunch and breakfast (although I can’t recommend the hash – more green pesto than hash.)
While I was there, I checked in on the progress of the latest Blue Bridge Hospitality offering, the Public Market Food Hall, set to open up this summer. (Read my March 17 interview with CHS Grad and owner of Blue Bridge Hospitality here to learn about this much anticipated Food Hall.) The space has its finishing touches, but no evidence of vendors.
The next big event at Liberty Station is a chocolate and wine event. It looks promising, but I’m not able to attend. So, dear readers, if you end up going, I’ll be curious to hear how you liked it. If you try the Friday Nights at NTC, (the next two are July 3 and August 7) I’d also be curious to hear about your experience. Maybe you’ll have a whole different perspective to share with ecoronado.com readers.
Point Loma: Art, History and Family Fun from San Diego Tourism Authority on Vimeo.
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Ann Marie Bryan
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
