Lewis Army Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Red Shield Inn
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Fort Lewis Military Museum (2009)
Location in Washington (state)
Location	Main St., Fort Lewis, Washington
Area	0.6 acres (0.24 ha)
Built	1919
Architect	Pratt & Watson Construction Co.
Architectural style	Stick/Eastlake, Western Stick
NRHP reference No.	79002552
Added to NRHP	February 14, 1979

Lewis Army Museum (originally Fort Lewis Military Museum) is a military museum at Fort Lewis in the state of Washington, U.S. It is housed in the historic former Red Shield Inn, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and can be seen prominently from Interstate 5. It is the only certified U.S. Army museum on the West Coast.

History

Established in 1971, the museum was originally housed in a two-story barracks. In July 1973, it was moved to the old Fort Lewis Inn.

Exhibits

Inside the museum are approximately 10,000 square feet (930 m²) of interior displays of various collections of uniforms and equipment, including "Soldiers of the Northwest", I Corps, the 9th Infantry Division, the Medical Corps, and "The Army Family". Outside, on 2.5 acres (10,000 m²), in the Vehicle Park, are a collection of tanks, jeeps, and other military vehicles, along with weapons, including a Nike-Hercules Missile and an Honest John rocket. The current director is Erik Flint. The Museum was reopened in 2012 after a two-year renovation. The museum closed on July 2, 2016 and reopened on August 31, 2017 after renovations of the interior exhibits to include dioramas and interactive features.

Red Shield Inn

The Red Shield Inn is one of two surviving Fort Lewis buildings that date back to the World War I era, when the present Fort Lewis was "Camp Lewis". It is the only remaining structure from a onetime recreational area that was called Greene Park. The building, in Western Stick–style, was built in 1918 by Pratt & Watson Construction Co. of Spokane, Washington, for the Salvation Army, at a cost of $107,000. It was named the Red Shield Inn, based on the Salvation Army symbol. It was 47,966 square feet (4,456.2 m²) in size and had approximately 150 rooms. The Salvation Army sold it to the U.S. Army on July 21, 1921, for the nominal price of one dollar. It was briefly known as the Camp Lewis Apartments, then the Camp Lewis Inn, and from 1927 the Fort Lewis Inn. In August 1972, after the new Fort Lewis Lodge opened near the Main Post Headquarters, the building was preserved to become the new home for the fort's museum. The inn officially became the Fort Lewis Military Museum on July 18, 1973. It gained its NRHP listing in February 1979.

Gallery

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  Vietnamese sandals made from recycled tire treads

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  Fort Lewis Military Museum

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  Outdoor display

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  Winter uniform of Korean War U.S. Infantryman

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  Huey Helicopter in courtyard

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  U.S. M103 Heavy Tank