Fort Lawton

Infobox nrhp
name =Fort Lawton


caption = Fort Lawton post exchange and gymnasium
location = Seattle, Washington
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built =1900–1917
architect = Unknown
architecture = Colonial Revival
added = August 15, 1978
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refnum = 78002752
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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 convert|703|acre|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. [, "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"]

In the 1950s, 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 convert|534|acre|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 and a military housing site. However, this may also soon be closed due to the 2005 Base realignment and closure act.

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.

Source for buildings, construction dates, comments: [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.]

The Chapel

In addition, the chapel, which is outside the Historic District, has the status of a city landmark. [ [https://www.cityofseattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/f.htm Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for F] , Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.]

Notes

References

* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=1757 HistoryLink Essay]
* [http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/fortlawton.htm Fort Lawton Landmark District] , Department of Neighborhoods (City of Seattle)
* Heather MacIntosh, [http://historicseattle.org/preservationseattle/preservationenv/defaultjan2.htm Preservation at Fort Lawton and Discovery Park] , "Preservation Seattle" (Historic Seattle), January 2004.
*cite web
last = Yardley
first = William
date = October 26, 2007
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27punish.html?hp
title = 1944 Conviction of Black G.I.’s Is Ruled Flawed
format = Newspaper article
work = New York Times
accessdate = 2007-10-28

External links

* [http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResults.aspx?QRY=ATTR&YEBUS=&YEBUE=&ST=&NE=Magnolia&AR= Impromptu query for historical sites in Magnolia] , Department of Neighborhoods (City of Seattle). Most of the listings are Fort Lawton buildings.