Quarters 1, Yerba Buena Island, Naval Training Station
historic place
On Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, you'll find Quarters 1, a historic place also known as the Nimitz House. This building was erected circa 1900 as the commandant's residence for the U.S. Naval Training Station. The Naval Training Station on Yerba Buena Island was significant as the first U.S. naval training center on the West Coast, established in 1898. At the time, it was one of only four such facilities in the United States. Quarters 1 itself was built in a Classical Revival style, which was unusual for naval base housing of that era. The training station closed in 1916, with naval training operations later moving to San Diego in 1923. However, Quarters 1 continued to serve as a residence for naval commanders. Notably, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II, resided here from 1963 until his death in 1966. Quarters 1 stands as a tangible link to the early establishment of a modern American naval presence on the West Coast and to a key figure in U.S. military history.