Marine Corps Recruit Depot Historic District

This San Diego military district covers about 110 acres within the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and holds 37 buildings, 25 of which contribute to its character. Most were built in 1921-1925 or 1939-1940 to a site plan drawn in 1918 by architect Bertram Goodhue. Its centerpiece is the Arcade, a U-shaped group of twelve buildings around the parade ground, linked by a covered arched walkway more than a mile long. Behind it lie secondary buildings with timber balconies, utilitarian industrial structures, and a separate park-like area of officers' quarters and garages. Barracks, L-shaped corner buildings, balcony buildings and residences repeat as types, with stucco over hollow clay tile, clay tile roofs and cast-stone ornament. The district matters because it preserves the original base in a unified Spanish Colonial Revival style and in Goodhue's formal layout. Twelve buildings are excluded because later alterations or construction after the period weakened their integrity. The base remains in military use.