| Fort Lawton | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 Fort Lawton post exchange and gymnasium
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| Location: | Seattle, Washington |
| Built/Founded: | 1900–1917 |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Architectural style(s): | Colonial Revival |
| Added to NRHP: | August 15, 1978 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78002752 |
Fort Lawton is a United States Army fort located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list.
In 1896, the Secretary of War selected what would later be Fort Lawton for construction of an artillery battery intended to defend Seattle and the south Puget Sound from naval attack. Local citizens and governments donated 703 acres (2.84 km2) land to the United States Army for the installation the next year.
Fort Lawton was named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton (1843-1899), a veteran of the American Civil War, the Indian Wars, and Spanish-American War campaigns who was killed in action in the Philippines. The fort opened on February 9, 1900 on a 1,100 acre (4.5 km²) site, which was redesigned in 1902 for infantry use. In 1910 a design overhaul, to include housing for officers and enlisted men, was prepared by landscape architect John C. Olmsted. Then in 1938 the Army offered to sell Fort Lawton back to the city of Seattle for the cost of one dollar, but the city declined, citing maintenance concerns.
At least 20,000 troops were stationed at Fort Lawton at a time during World War II, with over 1 million troops passing through both before and after the war. The base was also used as a Prisoner of War (POW) camp, with over 1000 Germans imprisoned there and approximately 5,000 Italians passing through en route to Hawaii for imprisonment. On August 15, 1944 an Italian POW, Guglielmo Olivotto, was found murdered at Fort Lawton after a night of rioting between Italian POWs and American soldiers. Twenty-eight African-American soldiers were later court-martialed, convicted of the crime, and sent to prison. The convictions were set aside in 2007. An formal army apology ceremony was held on July 26, 2008 to formally present to the relatives of former soldiers and the two remaining survivors years of backpay following the overturn of their dishonorable discharges. [1] [2]
On Memorial Day, May 1951, a Freedom Grove of trees and a monument honored our war dead, situated near the post chapel. The Korean War brought a flurry of activity as troops headed to or returned from Korea processed through here. In February 1953, the Fort Lawton Processing Center transferred half of its functions, the out-bound tasks, to Fort Lewis. The returnees continued to process here.
In the late 1950s, Nike anti-aircraft missiles and radar were in use at Fort Lawton, but in 1968 the site was rejected for proposed defense upgrades. The Army surplussed 534 acres (2.16 km2) in 1971, which was given back to the city in 1972, and dedicated as Discovery Park in 1973. Fort Lawton still exists within the park as headquarters of the U.S. Army Reserve's 70th Regional Readiness Command. The housing is currently used by the US Navy for Navy and Coast Guard personnel. The officer and NCO housing is scheduled to be sold to the public sometime in 2010 or 2011, and the Capehart Housing in the center of the park will be demolished. Fort Lawton has announced that it is scheduled to close in 2011.
Contents |
The Historic District
The Fort Lawton Historic District (FLHD) in the heart of the Fort Lawton grounds contains numerous historic buildings and structures; numerous other buildings and structures have stood there in the past. The following list includes only buildings and structures that survived at least into the 1980s.
| Official structure number |
Structure | Constructed | Comments | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 417 | Administration Building | 1902 |  |
|
| 640 | Double Officers Quarters | 1904 | ||
| 642 | Double Officers Quarters | 1904 | ||
| 644 | Double Officers Quarters | 1904 | ||
| 653 | Air Defense Operations Building | 1960 | torn down 2008 | |
| 654 | FAA Radar Building | ca. 1959 | torn down 2008 |  Building 672 and 670 can also be seen at left, and 640–644 at right. |
| 655 | FAA Radar Antenna Dome | ca. 1959 | ||
| 670 | Single Officers Quarters | 1904 |  |
|
| 672 | Double Officers Quarters | 1899 | ||
| 676 | Double Officers Quarters | 1899 | ||
| 679 | Double Officers Quarters | 1899 | ||
| 681 | Reviewing Stand | 1900 | ||
| 730 | Double Barracks | 1904 | Destroyed by fire February 13, 1983 | |
| 731 | Double Barracks | 1899 | ||
| S-732 | Post Gymnasium | 1942 | ||
| 733 | Post Exchange and Gymnasium | 1905 |  |
|
| 734 | Band Barracks | 1904 |  |
|
| 735 | Bakehouse | 1902 | Bakery until ca. 1938, offices until ca. 1960, no longer exists | |
| 754 | Quartermaster Shops | 1905 | no longer exists | |
| 755 | Civilian Employees Quarters | 1908 |  |
|
| T-756 | Commissary Warehouse | 1939 | no longer exists | |
| 757 | Quartermaster Storehouse | 1899 | no longer exists | |
| 759 | Guard House | 1902 |  |
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| T-760 | Storehouse | 1938 | Used at some point as a garage for a fire truck, no longer exists | |
| T-761 | Bus Stop | 1949 | Scenes from movie "Expiration Date" from 2005, filmed at this location |  |
| 901 | Double NCO Quarters | 1933 |   |
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| 902 | Double NCO Quarters | 1933 | ||
| 903 | Double NCO Quarters | 1904 | ||
| 904 | Single Family NCO Quarters | 1930s | ||
| 905 | Double NCO Quarters | 1899 | ||
| 906 | Single NCO Quarters | 1902 | Former hospital steward's quarters; previously adjacent to post hospital, north east of administration building, moved to present location around WWII | |
| 907 | Double NCO Quarters | 1899 | ||
| 909 | Double NCO Quarters | 1904 | ||
| 915 | Quartermaster Storehouse | 1905 | no longer exists | |
| 915A | Addition to Quartermaster Storehouse | 1939 | no longer exists | |
| 915B | Bulk Storage Warehouse | 1938 | no longer exists | |
| 916 | Quartermaster Stables | 1908 |  |
|
| 917 | Quartermaster Stables | 1902 | ||
| S-918 | Post Engineer Facility and Vehicle Storage Building | 1904 | Later turned into a groundskeeper's building |
Source for buildings, construction dates, comments:[3]
The Chapel
In addition, the chapel, which is outside the Historic District, has the status of a city landmark.[4]
Notes
- ^ , "http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/27/soldiers.apology.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories"
- ^ Yardley, "1944 Conviction of Black G.I.’s Is Ruled Flawed"
- ^ Steve Wilke and Karen James, An Archeological Evaluation of the Fort Lawton Historical District, Seattle, Geo-Recon International (Seattle), July 1984. A report submitted to the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. p 43–47.
- ^ Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for F, Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.
References
- HistoryLink Essay
- Fort Lawton Landmark District, Department of Neighborhoods (City of Seattle)
- Heather MacIntosh, Preservation at Fort Lawton and Discovery Park, Preservation Seattle (Historic Seattle), January 2004.
- Yardley, William (October 26, 2007). "1944 Conviction of Black G.I.’s Is Ruled Flawed" (Newspaper article). New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27punish.html?hp. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fort Lawton |
- Impromptu query for historical sites in Magnolia, Department of Neighborhoods (City of Seattle). Most of the listings are Fort Lawton buildings.
Coordinates: 47°39′40″N 122°24′53″W / 47.66104°N 122.414792°W
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