The Forgotten Quarantine Station of Point Loma

By Debbie L. Sklar / Special to the OB Rag

Today, it is difficult to imagine that the Point Loma waterfront once contained a federal medical complex whose job was to help keep contagious diseases from entering San Diego.

But for decades, a quarantine station operated at La Playa, on the Point Loma waterfront.

The location had a long history before the federal government arrived. La Playa was the site of the Mexican-era hide houses and one of the earliest commercial areas around San Diego Bay. By the late 19th century, however, the federal government had another concern: ships arriving in San Diego could bring contagious diseases with them.

The Quarantine Station at La Playa was established in 1888, according to the San Diego History Center’s History of San Diego, 1542-1908. Work on its buildings began in 1891, and the Marine Hospital associated with the station occupied nearly the site of the old hide houses.

The federal quarantine system was becoming increasingly important as San Diego’s maritime connections expanded.

The National Archives records describe the Point Loma station as a federal quarantine facility responsible for San Diego Bay. When ships arrived, inspectors boarded them and reviewed the voyage and the health of passengers and crew. A medical officer examined people for evidence of contagious disease, while a vessel inspector checked for rodent and vermin infestations.

If problems were discovered, ships could be quarantined and fumigated. If everything checked out, they received a clean bill of health.

The concerns became more serious after 1899, when steamers began arriving from Asian ports where outbreaks of bubonic plague were occurring. Yellow fever was also a concern aboard vessels arriving from Central and South America.

The station eventually became a busy federal operation.

A recent San Diego History Center account of San Diego’s maritime history notes that the completed station encompassed about five acres and included buildings on shore and on a wharf. Its facilities included quarters, a cottage hospital, warehouse, boathouse, and other structures. During the construction period, station personnel were already inspecting ships and passengers.

The station also became part of a larger battle over Point Loma’s future.

The Navy wanted the property for a coaling station. In the early 1900s, San Diego’s business leaders were pushing hard for a major naval facility, and Navy officials considered the quarantine-station site particularly desirable because of its shoreline, pier possibilities, and access to deep water.

That created a problem: the Navy wanted the land, but the Treasury Department operated the quarantine station there.

The San Diego History Center’s research into the city’s Chamber of Commerce describes the resulting dispute as a struggle between the Navy and Treasury departments over whether the quarantine station should be moved so the Navy could use the property.

San Diego’s business leaders supported the Navy’s effort. They believed a naval coaling station could help establish San Diego as an important military port and lead to additional naval investment.

The quarantine station therefore became caught up in a much larger transformation of Point Loma.

A 1959 San Diego History Center history of Fort Rosecrans notes that the quarantine station was at La Playa, on the site of the Mexican period hide houses. The area eventually became part of the federal and naval landscape of Point Loma.

The federal quarantine station itself survived for decades. National Archives records identify surviving records of the Point Loma Quarantine Station dating to the early 20th century, while a National Archives finding aid says the station eventually closed during the 1960s.

Today, there is little obvious evidence of the facility that once stood along the waterfront.

But the old photographs tell a different story.

They show a working federal medical station on Point Loma, with buildings extending over the water and ships arriving at a harbor where officials once had to decide whether passengers and crews could safely enter San Diego.

It was an important piece of San Diego’s maritime and public-health history — and one that has largely disappeared from the modern Point Loma landscape.

Sources

San Diego History Center, History of San Diego, 1542-1908 — historical description of the Government Quarantine Station and Marine Hospital at La Playa, including its 1888 establishment, 1891 construction, and location on the site of the old hide houses.

San Diego History Center, History of San Diego, 1542-1908 — photograph and description of Point Loma, the Silver Gate, Government Quarantine Station and Marine Hospital.

San Diego History Center, Journal of San Diego History — “Point Loma — Quarantine Station — c. 1900,” photograph FEP 2134, and discussion of the Navy’s effort to obtain the quarantine-station property.

National Archives and Records Administration — records and finding aid for the Point Loma Quarantine Station, including its inspection, medical examination, quarantine, and fumigation functions.

San Diego History Center, “Fort Rosecrans, California” — historical description of the Quarantine Station at La Playa and the site of the Mexican-period hide houses.

San Diego History Center, “Ventures on the Bay” — historical account of the Point Loma Quarantine Station and its facilities.