Naval Support Activity New Orleans The Naval Support Activity , New Orleans was a United States Navy installation . During its time in operation , it was the largest military installation in greater New Orleans . It hosts activities for other branches of service and federal agencies . The installation met the needs of military personnel , both in and behind the battle . Home to nearly 3900 active - duty and 2 , 700 civilian personnel , the facility spreads over both banks of the Mississippi River . The base was home to : The base was previously home to Commander , Navy Reserve Forces Command , until that command ' s relocation to Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia in March 2009 pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure 2005 . Established in the early 1900s , but inactive for long periods , the facility was reborn in 1939 . Between 1944 and 1966 , the base progressed from a U . S . Naval Station to the Headquarters , Support Activity , New Orleans . In 1966 , the Army , which owned the property on the river ' s east bank , transferred ownership to the Navy , thus establishing the New Orleans Naval Support Activity command . Base housing was limited to 300 units . Other amenities include a 22 - unit Navy lodge , family service center , childcare center for 42 , a medium - sized commissary and base exchange , and a healthcare clinic . Recreational activities include arts and crafts , auto hobby center , and a library . Early history . The land underlying the Naval Support Activity is part of an immense West Bank concession given to Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne , Sieur de Bienville , founder of New Orleans , in 1719 by the Compagnie des Indes . The land changed hands numerous times before being purchased by the United States government on 1849 - 02 - 14 for the site of a proposed Navy yard . The Navy yard was not built , however , and the land was leased off for farming . In May of that year , additional ground was purchased by the Navy to enlarge the original site . In November 1901 , the Naval Dry Dock arrived and the US Naval Station was formally established . In 1902 , the Commandant , Eighth Naval District received almost $ 4 million for the new buildings and improvements to the station . Additional property was obtained in 1903 giving the Navy almost three - fourths of a mile of valuable river frontage . The original buildings , some of which still stand , were completed on the site in 1903 . Also located on the grounds is the LeBeuf - Ott Country Retreat , built in 1840 . Today , that home is known simply as Quarters " A " and is occupied by the area ' s senior Naval flag officer . The Naval Station remained open until September 1911 . Following four years of inactivity , it was reopened in 1915 as an industrial Navy yard for repair of vessels . The station continued in full operation until June 1933 , when it was placed in a maintenance status . During the Great Depression , the Louisiana Emergency Relief Administration and later , the WPA , operated the third largest transient camp in the United States on the Naval Station . Opened in May 1934 , the transient camp sheltered , worked , and trained approximately 25 , 000 homeless men before it closed in March 1936 . In December 1939 , the station was reactivated and eventually became a base to handle transient naval personnel . In August 1940 , the Navy transferred the YFD - 2 to Pearl Harbor , where it was sunk during the attack on December 7 , 1941 as it drydocked the . In September 1944 , the station was designated the US Naval repair base . However , just three years later , it was designated the US Naval Station , a name it held until January 1962 , when it became the Headquarters , Support Activity , New Orleans . The latter name came about to reflect the fact that the Headquarters , Eighth Naval District was aboard the station as a regular tenant . World War I and World War II . Located on the East Bank of the Mississippi River are the three largest buildings of the Naval Support Activity . The three giant buildings that tower six floors above the river each contain over one half million square feet of floor space and house a major part of NSA tenants . The of land and three buildings have a history that began in June 1919 , when the buildings were constructed for the US Army Quartermaster Corps for use as a general logistical depot during World War I . These buildings were partially used by the QM Corps after completion until February 1931 , when buildings 601 and 602 were leased to the Board of Commissioners , Port of New Orleans . With the advent of World War II , the lease was canceled and the installation reverted to complete use by the military . After the QM Corps gave up the buildings , the official title became the New Orleans Port of Embarkation . In 1955 , the tract of land was known as the New Orleans Army Terminal . In 1965 the name was changed to the New Orleans Army Base . In modern times . There was an expanding naval presence in the lower Mississippi Delta in the mid - 1960s . In June 1966 , the New Orleans Army Base transferred to the Navy . July 1966 saw the disestablishment of the Headquarters , Support Activity and the establishment of the Naval Support Activity to reflect the changing mission of the station . With this change in mission and designation , both sides of the river began serving as the Naval Support Activity for the first time . Today , the Naval Support Activity is the host for the Headquarters of the nation ' s Marine Corps Reserve forces and a portion of its Navy Reserve forces , along with approximately 40 other command serving all aspects of military life . The following is taken from http : / / www . brac . gov / : The Naval Support Activity New Orleans was on the list of proposed military bases to be closed , submitted to the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment ( BRAC ) Commission . New Orleans , Louisiana , and Federal officials proposed that the base be converted to a " Federal City " , housing regional Homeland Security offices and other federal agencies . This idea was considered favorably by the BRAC commissioners who were touring the base . Apparently this idea was accepted , because in the September 8 , 2005 BRAC Commission Final Report Submitted to the President , the Naval Support Activity is not included in the list of facilities to be closed . The base is currently scheduled to be closed on September 15 , 2011 . The base closed as scheduled on 15 September 2011 . Today New Orleans ' s Federal City is a mixed purpose development in the Algiers community . The former base is now home to several businesses including marine launch company , Center - Lift and the enterprise software company , Maxwell Worthington .