The U.S. Army will be firing cannons on Friday, Feb 24, and Saturday, Feb 25, in Discovery Park as part of the closing ceremony of Fort Lawton.

Fort Lawton officially closed in September, 2011 when the last U.S. Army Reserve tenant on the post moved to its new facility in Marysville, Wash. The ceremony on Saturday marks the return of the property to the city of Seattle.

Fort Lawton was one of the many bases on the 2005 United States Department of Dense Base Realignment and Closure list, which recommended closing 22 major United States military bases and decreasing the size of various other bases in order to cut costs.

The ceremony will honor the base's 111 years of history in Seattle, starting with an outdoor flag ceremony and ending with a reception at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.

According to the Seattle Department of neighborhoods,
the Secretary of War selected the location of the base in 1896, intended to defend Seattle and the south Sound from naval attack.

The following year, local citizens and governments donated 703 acres land to the United States Army for the installation.

The Army officially named Fort Lawton in 1900 to honor Major General Henry Ware Lawton, a veteran of Civil War, Indian, and Spanish-American campaigns who died in the Philippines in 1899.

The base was converted to infantry use in 1902, and landscape architect John C. Olmsted prepared a new master plan in 1910 for housing officers and enlisted men.

The fort saw active duty as a staging center and prisoner of war camp during World War II, and was equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and radar in the 1950s.

In 1968, the Army decided to surplus most of the base and offered 534 acres to the City of Seattle for park use.

Native American tribes asserted treaty rights to the original land but settled with the city for a portion as the park for Daybreak Star Center, which was completed in 1977.

Over the years, Fort Lawton housed many Army Reserve headquarters with the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command being the last to have called Fort Lawton home.

The closing ceremony is free and open to the public and will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Leisy Hall Fort Lawton, 4570 West Texas Way.

Historical bus tours of Fort Lawton and Discovery Park start at Daybreak Star will start at noon.  

Firing practice will take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday. Shots will again be heard on Saturday morning between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.