A Historical Walking Tour
of Bremerton, Washington.
Take a brief
tour of historic Bremerton with this detailed guidebook that follows a logical path through the town.

There are
twelve sites noted here, with plenty of historic architecture and byways along the way. It starts and ends at the Kitsap County Museum.

This tour can easily be conducted by walking in about an hour.

Site #1: Seattle First Bank,

Current Home of KCHS Museum

280 4th Street, built in 1950

 Seattle First National Bank, Bremerton Branch, bought out Citizen’s Bank located at 2nd and Washington in 1938.  In 1950 Seafirst constructed this Art Moderne building, above an old parking garage.  Access for the garage was through a tunnel under 4th Street. 

Part of the museum’s basement work areas are under the sidewalk. After Seafirst relocated again in 1974, this building had several occupants before the Museum bought it in 1995. Grants from the Washington State Heritage Capital Projects Fund, the Gates Foundation, and the J.M. Murdoch Charitable Trust have enabled the remodel of the building. This has included the addition of a mezzanine floor, installation of an elevator and the purchase and installation of a moveable storage system for archives and artifacts in the basement. 

The horse medallion, purchased in the 1980s at one of Arnold’s Furniture “Garage Sales,” covers the space left after the bronze Seafirst logo was removed.

Photo by Eric Dahlberg.

 

 
Site #2: Harlan Building

402 Pacific, built in 1922

One of four Harlan Thomas designed buildings constructed after the Navy paid the Bremer family for properties below Front Street (south of 1

st St.) for expansion of PSNY following WWI. It is the mirror image of the Olympic Building (NW corner 4th & Pacific - Goodies). In 1990 it was one of 15 Bremer Trust properties listed for sale by Bradley Scott Real Estate for $185,000. It is now owned by Amy Burnett, whose family (G. Allen) has been longtime Bremerton supporters.

Photo courtesy Amy Burnett.

 

 Site #3: Elks Temple & Lodge #1181

 285 5

th Street, dedicated March 19, 1921.

The cornerstone was laid in March 1920, after ailing member, SF Hoffman, donated $18,000 to purchase the property for a new structure. It was estimated the build-ing would cost $125,000. Willard A Parker, first cousin of the Lent brothers, built the new Elks building. It was dedicated March 19, 1921.  In 1946 a commercial addition was built on Pacific Avenue with Payless occupying the space for many years. In Harry Truman’s 1948 speech from the balcony above Payless, Ken Banach and Jack Napper claimed that they were the first to yell out the “Give ‘em hell” legend.

They were among the thousands on Pacific Avenue as President Truman spoke.

The down-stairs lounge hosted dances, weddings, and other formal occasions, and was “the” social center for the movers and shakers of Bremerton. It was  dominated by a transparent color photographic mural of the Grey Wolf Range in the Olympic Mountains photographed by Asahel Curtis. It was moved to the new facility on Pine Road in December 1977.

 

Site #4: Medical Dental Building

5

th & Pacific, built 1920

The Keith Building, later Wallace Building and today the Medical Dental Building, began as Edwin S. Keith’s dream to build Bremerton’s first skyscraper, a six-story edifice.  It was first

built as a three-story structure, with the fourth story added in the early 1950s under different ownership. He took pride in owning the town’s first elevator, later destroyed by fire according to longtime building tenant, Merrill Wallace. It was the last building in Bremerton to have an elevator attendant, Mrs. Chickie (Hand) Bushaw.  The building was the first home of the Kitsap County Medical Service Bureau (later Kitsap Physicians Service).

 

Site #5: Bremerton Public Library,

612 5th Street, built in 1938.

Bremerton Public Library opened its doors in 1908, above the City’s horse stables. To escape the objectionable odors, the library was moved to the second floor of the First National Bank in 1913.  Having outgrown the bank location, it relocated, in 1919 to the Sunday school room at the back of the Methodist Church.  Another move followed to its present location, into the former Norwegian Free Lutheran Church.

    In 1925 Bremerton was thriving and had again outgrown its library, so planning started for a new facility.  Thanks to nearly $50,000 from the “New Deal” Works Progress Administration (WPA), local taxes and other monies, on August 1, 1938, the new, art deco library opened. It was painted in an ivory and tan color scheme, with lighting enhanced by the skylight overhead, an automatic oil furnace and partial air-conditioning.  In 1955 it merged with the Kitsap County Library and became headquarters for the Kitsap Regional Library.

     In September, 2005, the library closed for a seven-month renovation.  Thanks to over $400,000 in City, County, Federal and Gates Foundation funds, it reopened on April 7, 2006, with new windows, flooring, fresh paint and a new main-floor bathroom. 

Photo courtesy Kitsap Regional Library

 

Site #6 Admiral Theatre

515 Pacific Avenue, built 1942

Evergreen Theatre Corp. opened this theatre on May 7, 1942. The name, Admiral, was selected as a result of a contest for Bremertonians. The opening feature was “The Fleet’s In” with Dorothy Lamour, which reflected America’s preoccupation with WWII. Mr. Peterson, formerly manager of the Rialto on 2nd St. and promoter of the contest, was the first manager.  To compete with Silverdale’s new theatres in the 1980s, the Admiral was tri-plexed. Ugly modifications were done to suit this, but still it was closed in May 1988. 

The Admiral Theatre Foundation was organized in 1988 to save and renovate the building, as part of the city’s revitalization. In November 1990, the city bought the theatre for $75,000 from the Bremer Trust and granted the Foundation a 50-year no-cost lease on the facility. It was officially and proudly reopened on May 7, 1994. P

Photo courtesy Admiral Theatre Foundation.

 

Site #7: U.S. Post Office

6

th & Pacific, built 1937.

Until the mid- 1930s, the post office in Bremerton had existed without government aid. As the city grew, the need for more services became apparent. In 1935 the federal government purchased the property for the present site from the William Bremer estate and T.O. Buffington. The cornerstone was laid in April 1937 and the post office opened for business later that year.  FDR’s New Deal Art Project commissioned the 24-foot painting by Ernest Norling that adorns the wall in the lobby.  Kitsap County Historical Society restored the mural in 1995 with donations from community members.

 

 Site #8: Braman Home,

237 6

th Street, built 1936

James d’Orma (Dorm) Braman, founder of Braman Millwork & Manufacturing Co, designed and built this English Tudor/Norman style home on the site of his original home. The round entrance tower involved complex sub-paneling and woodwork, capped by a conical roof. The first floor is faced in brick, with the upstairs finished in half-timbered stucco.

The woodwork in the interior includes a

pegged hardwood entrance platform and landing for the main staircase that leads up with wrought iron railings that run along one side of the hallway above. Two steps down from the entrance platform leads to a sunken living room, featuring coved ceilings, a large black marble fireplace and a living room front window featuring a gracefully curved top and stained glass insets. Other windows in the house also have stained glass panels.

Two steps lead up to a dining room, separated by golden mahogany pocket doors with a curved top sash. Custom display cabinets fit neatly into 2 corners of the dining room and 2 windows with stained glass panels are in alcoves at the other end. French doors led to a landscaped patio at the side of the house.

The high, complex roof accommodated three large bedrooms, a master bathroom, and in the round turret room, son Bob used to sit and play a pump organ. At Christmas he opened the windows and carols could be heard all over the city. The bedroom used by Jim and Bob had sleeping bunks built into the slope of the roof. In the basement was a playroom with a fireplace and concave ceiling that Braman designed to be reminiscent of a ship’s interior.

To date, it has retained all of the exterior features and most of the notable interior craftsmanship. The property immediately to the east was the childhood residence of William H. Gates Jr., father of Microsoft’s founder. Two doors to the west was the Harrison home, occupied by the founder of Harrison Hospital.

 

Site #9: Eagles Aerie No 192

205 6

th Street, opened July 4, 1941

Aerie # 192 was chartered December 1901; two months after Bremerton’s incorporation. William Moffett, first president, with officers and 92 members, met in Paul Mehner’s tailor shop. In later years meetings were in the US Furniture Building on Pacific Avenue beside the Admiral Theatre

 

 

 

The present location is a two-story building with reinforced concrete walls and brick veneer facing on the north and east sides.  It was constructed in 1941 by Sam Linden Construction Company. 

The interior is plaster, wood paneling, padded plastic and brick.  The 6,536 square-foot main floor is entered from Sixth Street, up a flight of stairs onto a terrace and into the entrance lobby, which leads to the lodge hall, secretary’s office, meeting room, check room, ladies’ and men’s rooms.  The lobby also leads to the 7,382 square-foot lower floor, containing a bar area, card room, trustees room, dining hall, kitchen, check room, men and women’s rest rooms, shower, various storage closets and the boiler room. 

Photo courtesy S. Meengs.

 

Site #10: Building 50,

Bremerton Naval Museum

1

st & Pacific, built in 1896

Designed by the Seattle architectural firm of Chamberlain & Siebrand, it was started in 1893, and completed in 1896 at the cost of $7,900.  This 10,000 square foot, neo-classically styled, wood framed, hipped roof structure is 88' by 78' and 32' high in three stories with beveled wood siding.  The main entry has four Ionic columns with pediments above.  Five other structures were built at that time as officers’ quarters and are still used today.

Building 50 served as Headquarters for the Naval Station during the shipyard’s initial period of development.  From 1891 to 1906 it housed the Offices of the Commandant.  It moved from the hilltop overlooking the waterfront in 1911 to make room for the excavation for Drydock-2, and used temporarily as the Dispensary.  From 1920 to 1933 it was used by the Shipyard Chemists and housed the Apprentice School.  (10 cont.) In 1939 it moved again to make room for Drydock-5. 

It was painted camouflage during WWII and housed the offices of the Salute, Legal Aid, and the Gas Rations Board.  It was painted white again after WWII and housed various shipyard offices.  During the Korean Conflict it was painted battleship gray.  In 1990 it was occupied by the Commander of Submarine Pacific Representative, the Air Pacific Representative, and the Shipyard Pilot's Office.  October 9, 2004, a fourth move brought it outside the Navy base and another function, the home of Bremerton Naval Museum.

Photo courtesy Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

 

Site #11: Bremerton Trust
& Savings Bank

202 Pacific Avenue

In April 1914 the Bremer family contracted with University of Washington Dean of Architecture Harlan Thomas to design a new building for the Bremerton Trust & Savings. Chartered in 1914, George E. Miller, former Port Orchard business owner and organizer of Kitsap County Bank in 1908, held the major interest. After Miller’s death in 1934, his son-in-law, Roy A. Noyes succeeded him as president and held that position after it was sold to Peoples National Bank of Washington in 1949. James H. Braman was one of the first five members.

 

 Site #12: Roxy Theatre

270 4

th Street, opened May 7, 1941

Originally owned by Benjamin F. Shearer, the Art Moderne, single-screen theatre, was designed by Bjarne Moe, one of the Pacific coast's foremost theater architects.  The Auditorium is all on a slope with a large cove-lit dome in the ceiling. The decorations are very plain but nice late art deco (1941). The lobby has a great deco glass light fixture on the ceiling and the baseboards around all the walls are red marble. There are many old photos of the shipyard and various vessels adorning the walls in the lobby and the restroom lounges in keeping with the location of the theater and the importance of the Navy to Bremerton.

Film crews at the opening night gala interviewed celebrities. (The opening night film is still available at the KC Public Library.)  The lower lobby still displays its original 35-foot photomural of Bremerton and The Navy Yard by Pioneer Northwest Photographer Asahel Curtis, taken in 1908.  It is of Pacific Fleet armored cruisers (not the Great White Fleet) Washington, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Dakota, California, Colorado and West Virginia. It also includes the unarmored cruisers Milwaukee, Charleston and St. Louis.

During the mid 1980's, it was owned by Tom Moyer's Luxury Theaters of Portland Oregon. It was then purchased from the Tom Moyer chain by a local welding contractor, who had visions of restoring the building as a combined movie and performing arts house. However, the cost of asbestos abatement and proper rebuilding was more than the owner could afford, so he sold it to Calvary Chapel Bremerton.  It is now used for church services, as well as Christian concerts, events and movies. 

 ___________________

A Little Background about Bremerton and the Early History of the Area.

Glacial activity and earthquakes caused by the Juan de Fuca plate colliding and subducting with the continental shelf have created the topography of the Puget Sound region.  One quake opened up the Port Washington Narrows and turned a glacial lake into what we now know as Dyes Inlet.

Warmer days, after the ice receded, brought hunter-fisher-gatherers who scattered along Bremerton’s shorelines, mostly on a seasonal basis.  Marauding bands of northern peoples made frequent brief visitations in their great war canoes, taking their bounty, sometimes slaves, food or prized treasures received at the potlatches of Puget Sound.  Archaeological evidence indicates hunter-fisher-gatherers use of the Evergreen Park beaches dating back 1,300 years and used for this purpose by the Suquamish people through the early 1900s.

The US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, under Lt. Charles Wilkes was the first to survey the Bremerton-area waters and see its deep-harbor potential, and is responsible for naming most of the land masses and waterways in this area.

In May 1877, Lt. Ambrose B. Wyckoff arrived with the Coast and Geodetic Survey and began promoting the Puget Sound area for naval purposes to naval authorities and politicians in Washington, D.C.  In 1888, Congress authorized a Presidential commission to select a site for a naval station north of the 42

nd parallel.  The second commission agreed with the first and Lt. Wyckoff was returned to the area to make it happen.  Wyckoff was able to negotiate with a consortium of property owners, of which William Bremer was one, for the purchase of 145 ½ acres in 1891 for a fraction of the market price.

On September 16, 1891, Henry Hansel, a Seattle jeweler and financial backer of William Bremer, recorded a warranty deed to Bremer for nearly 88 acres on the peninsula behind Point Turner.  In December the original 25-acre plat of the Town of Bremerton was filed.

On that same day Lt. Wyckoff, escorted by the sailors of the USS Yukon and in the presence of the residents of the neighborhood, read the orders taking possession of the present Naval Station.  His daughter, Selah, and a seaman from the USS Yukon raised the flag. 

H.W. (Josh) Linsley purchased the first lots and erected the first building, near the present location of Bldg. 50 on 1

st Street.  In 1892 the post office was later located, with Mr. Linsley as first postmaster.

Bremerton School District No. 42 separated from the Charleston District in 1893, and the school building was built through the generosity of the early and substantial pioneers, on what is now 4

th Street.

Bremerton became a voting precinct at that time.

The Norwegian Lutherans built Bremerton’s first church structure on the northwest corner of 4

th and Washington in 1893.  Methodist, Baptist and Episcopal groups initially rented and held services in this building. Catholic services were first held in homes and then the 4th Street schoolhouse, until they built on the northwest corner of 5th and Washington in 1902.  

The sale of the Navy yard site by Mr. Bremer to the government at its own price, which was one-half of the price paid to the original owner, the erection and maintenance of a large and substantial wharf, the donation of the school house site, the encouragement of the church people by gifts of church sites, the steadfast faith of the founder during the dark days of financial and commercial depression, and his upright conduct and courteous treatment, have contributed in no small degree to the magnificent and phenomenal growth of his town.

References:

All photos are courtesy of Kitsap County Historical Society, except as noted.

Compiled in 2006 by the Historic Sites Committee, to benefit Kitsap County Historical Society & Museum and its membership. A handheld version of this tour is available at the Museum Front Desk. Copyright 2006 by Kitsap County Historical Society.