| Historic Name: |
Band Barracks |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Colonial - Colonial Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Magnolia |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1904 |
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| Significance |
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Fort Lawton is located in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, within the area that is now Discovery Park. Established as a U.S. Army post in 1898, the fort had been envisioned by local residents and businessmen as a major regimental post, with the hope that it would enhance the local economy and the city’s status in its ongoing competition with Tacoma to the south. Upon selection of the site, local landowners donated more than 700 acres for the fort. By 1900, construction of the first seven permanent, wood-frame buildings on the site was completed.
While local aspirations for the fort were slow to be realized, initial construction continued through 1910, at which time there was an assembly of 25 buildings set around an oval-shaped parade ground. While Fort Lawton never became as large or influential as Seattle residents had anticipated, during World War II it was the second-largest port of embarkation on the West Coast. After the 1940s, the use of the fort declined again and many of the temporary and wartime buildings were removed. The Army stayed on until 1972, at which time it transferred ownership of a portion of Fort Lawton to the City of Seattle.
A large portion of the post, including its historic core area, with 25 buildings and parade ground, was surplused by the Army and added to Discovery Park in the mid-1970s. The Fort Lawton Historic District was nominated to and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The City of Seattle designated Fort Lawton as a local historic district in 1988.
The Fort Lawton Historic District is associated with the development and the history of the City of Seattle; and embodies the characteristics of military interpretations of American architectural styles of the 1890s and early 1900s, based on standard Quartermaster General building designs, as well as its planned site. The period of significance for the Fort Lawton Historic District extends from its inception in 1898 to 1945, based on the development of the post, with additional buildings and site features resulting from the Depression-era public works, and the fort's role in WWII.
Building 734 is Fort Lawton's Band Barracks, constructed in 1904 along the western edge of the parade ground.
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| Appearance |
| Building 734 – Band Barracks
(Completed March 31, 1904)
This two-story, cross-gabled building is situated along the western edge of the parade ground near the northern end of Oregon Avenue, with its primary façade facing southeast. It is sited north of the Post Exchange & Gymnasium (Building 733). The frame building, on a sandstone and brick foundation, measures 68' by 27' and has a basement. Originally slate-shingled, the roof is now composition-shingled. Walls are clad with painted, lapped cedar siding. Exterior trim includes window trim, corner boards, a frieze band, and water table. The front porch, with Tuscan columns and pipe railings, wraps three sides of a shallow ell. A small back porch is located at the north corner of the building. Fenestration consists of two-over-two, double-hung wood sash windows, with a Palladian window at three of four gable ends.
The original color scheme for the post building exteriors appears to have been a barn red with red-brown trim, which is shown on several hand-colored post card images. However, as photos dating from 1907 and later indicate, a consistent, two-tone lighter color palette soon replaced it as the customary combination. The 1981 HABS report indicated that the building interior, with side hall, retained much of its original plan. Some pressed metal ceilings remained exposed, and a room on the second floor was soundproofed with acoustical tiles.
This building is vacant and has been mothballed since the late 1980s/early 1990s. Plexiglass has been attached over the windows on the primary southeast façade, while window openings on other facades have been infilled with wood panels finished to resemble the original sash. Vents in infill panels and interior exhaust fans allow for adequate air exchange. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
NR, LR |
| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Brick, Stone |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Defense - Military facility |
Plan: |
Cross/Cruciform |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Military |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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Lentz, Florence, et al. "Historic American Buildings Survey, Fort Lawton." U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1981.
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Kavanaugh, Major Robert E. "Fort Lawton." National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, January 1978.
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Mann, Millegan, Morse and Ramsey. "Fort Lawton Buildings: A Survey and Report, Prepared for City of Seattle Parks and Recreation." August 15, 1975.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District. "Context Study of the United States Quartermaster General Standardized Plans 1866-1942." Report prepared for U.S. Army Environmental Ctr, Envir. Compliance Division, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., Nov. 1997.
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