Built in the 1930s they were located to the north of the barracks quadrangles and west of the Command Circle. Here curvilinear tree-lined streets with setback homes created a pleasant small town.Ī post theater, bakery, commissary, stables, gun sheds, and warehouses completed the new post. The officer's area site provided a clean slate for new concepts. Another community where the planners could develop a new layout was the officer's area, named Broadmoor. The homes sat around an open grass space, each house setback from the street and with a service lane to the rear of the homes. The NCO housing area, Greenwood, was laid out using these ideas. Ford (1879-1930), had an opportunity to introduce new city planning concepts. Adjacent to the hospital complex, General Cheatham's planners, including the nationally famous George B. The hospital and nurses' quarters went up in the World War I hospital area. A final quadrangle with a regiment headquarters and barracks were completed in 1939 as the 3rd Infantry Division expanded its presence. In November 1934 a beautiful brick chapel, Romanesque-style with rounded arches and stone columns, opened. The hospital, a nurses' quarters, theater, and drill hall were built between 19. During 1927-1929 workers finished two barracks quadrangles and then started erecting the officer and NCO housing. This structure stood out as the post's most attractive building. The new headquarters building was located on the grand avenue into the post, at a circle that would become Pershing Circle. The YWCA Hostess House became the Officers Club (demolished 1971), the Knights of Columbus Hall served as the NCO Club (demolished 1971), the Liberty Library functioned as the Post Exchange until demolished in the 1950s, the Red Cross Convalescent House continued to serve the adjacent hospital until after World War II and today is the Family Resource Center, and across the Pacific Highway (today Interstate 5) the former Red Shield Inn continued as Fort Lewis Inn lodging until 1972 when it closed and remodeled into the Fort Lewis Museum.
Since the funding did not include community services facilities, surviving World War I buildings would be converted to new uses. The bottom of the U remained the location of the headquarters and general's housing, called Command Circle. Across the parade ground on the north permanent barracks replaced the demolished wood barracks.
On the south side of the parade ground the former barracks area would be an officer's housing area. At Fort Lewis this continued the U-shape cantonment, but with some differences. Here, to reduce costs, the new construction would utilize the 1917 layout, retaining the existing roads, sewers, power grid, and water lines. Cheatham (1867-1944), the Quartermaster General, formed an advisory team of noted architects and planners to bring about attractive and efficient buildings and layout. The Fort Lewis permanent building plan placed the new buildings largely within the World War I footprint. The first new three-story barracks quadrangle opened on November 29, 1927, housing a field artillery regiment, today buildings 2019, 2020, and 2021 between Montana Street (now Pendleton Street) and California (Liggett Street). Fort Lewis would have a grand and stately appearance. Contractors had removed the World War I wood buildings, opening space for Neo-Georgian brick buildings. The military funding program started in 1926 that included barracks, hospitals, officer and non-commissioned officer (NCO) housing, and shops and warehouses brought a construction flourish. This is Part 2 of a two-part history of Fort Lewis.īy early 1928, a few building of the new and permanent Fort Lewis indicated a dramatic change from the well-worn World War I construction. In 2010, Fort Lewis merged with neighboring McChord Air Force Base to form Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Following World War II, the fort modernized, but retained its historic core of original permanent buildings. The post functioned to train soldiers for other wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terrorism. Eisenhower (1890-1969), the future general and president, served at Fort Lewis from 1940 to 1941.
Training and preparedness intensified leading up to and throughout World War II. During World War II new compounds were erected at North Fort Lewis, Northeast Fort Lewis, and South Fort Lewis and within the main cantonment area. In 1939 the permanent construction program ended and temporary wood buildings then became commonplace. The permanent Fort Lewis went up between 19 with the construction of stately brick buildings in an attractive layout.
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