It has been a long time coming, but the Lewis Army Museum is now open for tours, albeit limited, after a $9.6 million renovation that took two years. The "soft reopening" was held this past week.
Exhibits are now open to the public Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. and for scheduled tours Monday through Friday. The museum started in 1919 as the Red Shield Inn under the operation of the Salvation Army to house soldiers and their families at what was then called Camp Lewis during the post-World War I years.
The building was then transferred to the federal government five years later and served as a hotel for transitioning soldiers until 1972. It was then converted to the Fort Lewis Military Museum. It is now the only certified military museum on the West Coast.