Fort Lewis Entrance Gate - Washington - U.S. Route 99 - The Pacific Highway on Waymarking.com

Since the 1920's a portion of the Pacific Highway passed by the huge rock gate at the entrance to Fort Lewis. When a 1957 expansion of I-5 (which had replaced this portion of US99 at the time) threatened to demolish the gate, it was moved and can now be seen from I-5, next to the fort's visitor center.

Jill Livingston's book, "That Ribbon of Highway III: Highway 99 Through the Pacific Northwest" says that "the cobblestone pillars of the entrance gate to Fort Lewis front the highway. The large military reservation presents a forested landscape to the motorist for several miles, while up ahead is town after town as we get deeper into an urban area."

This entrance arch was built by the citizens of Pierce County when they made a gift of the fort property to the United States Army at the beginning of WWI. The workers who constructed the fort (then actually "Camp Lewis") collected $4,000 for the materials and donated their labor to build the gate in 1917. It is constructed with river rock and logs to resemble the blockhouses which once protected the early settlers of the Pacific Northwest. The gate was an immediate landmark and was the subject of many postcards and artwork of the time period.

State: Washington Nearest City: Tacoma Type: Structure - bridge or other historic infrastructure

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Date Logged Log   08/11/2022 prussel visited it 09/02/2020 Rock Chalk visited it 09/11/2009 crossedanchors visited it 09/21/2008 Dweather visited it 03/10/2008 Hikenutty visited it 08/11/2007 Martin 5 visited it 05/09/1984 sfwife visited it 02/02/1981 mosermoe visited it

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