PORT HUENEME : Officers’ Club Rates Among Navy’s Top 5

The Officers’ Club at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme is far from standard issue. In a ceremony Monday, the club, housed in a historic mansion, was recognized as one of the five best in the U. S. Navy.

“It’s not just a building; it’s almost a home,” said Lt. Mike Cherry, a supply corps officer. “It has that extra touch, a little bit of class.”

The Bard Mansion, a 78-year-old building that has served as the base Officers’ Club since World War II, earned a five-star rating from the secretary of the Navy for its ambience, food service, entertainment and management. Only four other clubs worldwide, two of them outside the United States, received the top mark.

The onetime home of U. S. Sen. Thomas Bard contains 12 bedrooms and seven full baths in its 17,000 square feet of floor space. Built in 1912 for $110,000, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

As the base Officers’ Club, it is open for lunch, dinner and cocktails to military officers and civilian employees. Cherry said its major attraction is an $8 luncheon buffet featuring a soup and salad bar and a variety of entrees.

“It can be both an informal place for officers to meet after dinner for a drink or a perfect place for formal balls,” Cherry said. “It’s not just a place with a bar, some tables and chairs and maybe a dance floor.”