WHAT TO DO AFTER DARK : EL TORO MARINE BASE : Officer’s Club Still a Good Place to Meet

They still file into the Officer’s Club at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in their neatly pressed uniforms.

But the club scene isn’t what it once was. “In the 1940s and 1950s, the Officer’s Club was the place to be,” said Capt. Margaret Kuhn, El Toro’s public affairs officer. “In the last 10 years, it’s not been as popular a place as it was in the past.”

Kuhn attributed the decline in popularity to several factors, including the fact that an increasing number of officers live off the base and prefer to spend their evenings at home with family.

With heightened concerns about driving drunk, officers who live miles away from the base prefer not to drink at the club and then drive home, she said.

Still, the Officer’s Club remains a central meeting place, particularly during special events. The club will host its annual New Year’s Eve party this week. And its banquets, birthday parties and Super Bowl celebrations also are well-attended.

The facility is especially popular with older officers and retirees, some of whom hold regular meetings there, Kuhn said.

The club consists of a bar, a dining area and a dance floor. The atmosphere is friendly yet formal--a change from the mess hall, where food is served cafeteria-style, Kuhn said.

“It’s not the kind of place you’d go to in California-casual clothes,” she said. “You can go in a uniform or proper civilian attire.”

Enlisted personnel have two of their own clubs on the base that compete for business with a pizza parlor and nearby McDonald’s restaurant.

Other popular nighttime hangouts include the base’s gym and bowling alley, Kuhn said.