Fort Lawton is located on a point of land that juts out into Puget Sound just 5 miles north of downtown Seattle. The location was selected for a fort in 1896 by the Secretary of War. Fort Lawton has seen a lot of activity through its history–during World War II it was the second largest embarkation point to the Pacific Theater–but the Fort was officially closed in 2011 and today sits amidst what is now Discovery Park. At 534 acres, Discovery Park is the largest city park in Seattle. It offers wooded trails, views of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains, a beach, and Discovery Park Lighthouse (also known as West Point Light).
I recently went for a run at Discovery Park and ended up wandering the empty streets of Fort Lawton, admiring the buildings and the setting. While a lot of the buildings I passed looked empty, a portion is a private street and a number of the buildings are going through restoration. You can even purchase a residence here (I know, right??).
Sources and recommendations:
To learn more about the Fort, I recommend starting here.
Discovery Park (one of may favorite places in Seattle!)
“Historic is the new Modern”–ogle the residences for sale here.
We had Fort Benjamin Harrison close in the 1990s and now all the officers homes are private residences. But I love these homes… they look charming!
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That’s cool, maybe it’s a common trend? Love that they didn’t just tear everything out at Ft Lawton even though it’s all a huge park now!
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