The Joan raises its curtains after massive overhaul of dilapidated Navy facility

The performing arts center is named for the late Joan Jacobs and her husband, Irwin, major San Diego philanthropists.

Architects had to contend with collapsed ceilings and rotten columns at the former Navy facility, building in soundproofing elements.

Design elements reference the bowling alley once located in the facility, now part of Liberty Station.

Liberty Station, the decades-long transformation of San Diego’s massive Naval Training Center into a mixed-use neighborhood and cultural district, is a welcome reprieve from much of Southern California’s fragmented sprawl. Thanks to its 1920s-era Spanish Revival buildings, arched colonnades and broad public promenades, visiting it feels like stepping back to a time when walkability and simple elegance were the norm. To get a picture in yo