Ivan Gillis

Active Retirement Communities

State:    Washington--Olympic Peninsula

City:      Bremerton

Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap. Bremerton is connected to downtown Seattle by a 55-minute ferry route, which carries both vehicles and walk-on passengers.

Bremerton, the largest city in Kitsap County, is located on the Kitsap Peninsula and is bounded on the southeast and east by Sinclair Inlet and the strait of Port Orchard respectively. The city is divided by the Port Washington Narrows, a strait spanned by two bridges that connects Dyes Inlet, which lies northwest of the city, to Port Orchard. The part of the city northeast of the narrows is referred to as East Bremerton.

At the peak of World War II, the Bremerton area was home to an estimated 80,000 residents due to the heavy workload of shipbuilding, repair and maintenance required for the Pacific war effort. Most of the relocation was temporary, though, and only 27,678 citizens were left in the city by 1950. During the 1940s, presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman both visited Bremerton. Roosevelt made a campaign stop at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in August 1944, giving a national radio address in front of a backdrop of civilian workers. During the course of his 35-minute speech, it is believed the president suffered an angina attack, experiencing severe chest and shoulder pain. An electrocardiogram was immediately administered once he left the podium but it showed nothing abnormal.

President Truman took a two-day tour of Washington state in 1948, speaking from the balcony of the Elks Club on the morning of June 10. Local legend has it that a man in the large Pacific Avenue crowd yelled the infamous "Give 'em hell, Harry" line for the first time. This is a matter of dispute, however, as local newspapers quoted the man as having shouted "Lay it on, Harry." Despite this, there is a bronze plaque attached to the corner of the building declaring that exact spot to be the place where the phrase "Give 'em hell, Harry" was first uttered. With the return of World War II GIs to the homefront, the need for post-secondary education became evident to officials of the Bremerton School District. Olympic Junior College (now Olympic College), a two-year institution, opened its doors to 575 students in the Fall of 1946. Initially, it operated in the former Lincoln School building, gradually moving operations to World War II--surplus Quonset buildings at its current 16th & Chester site. About 100 students received associate's degrees at the first commencement exercises held June 10, 1948. President Truman was in attendance and received the college's first honorary degree. Operation of the college transferred from the school district to the State of Washington in 1967.

On the whole, the 1950s and 1960s were a period of stability for the city. A second high school opened in 1954 and two comprehensive high schools operated in the city until 1978. Growth in East Bremerton necessitated the construction of another span across the Port Washington Narrows in 1958. The $5.3 million, four-lane Warren Avenue Bridge allowed for increased traffic on State Highway 21-B (now State Route 303).

The battleship USS Missouri, site of the Japanese surrender treaty signing that ended World War II, was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at PSNS in 1955. For 30 years, she served as the city's primary tourist attraction. Hundreds of thousands of visitors walked the "surrender deck," before the ship was re-commissioned in 1985.

Population growth was flat with 26,681 enumerated in the 1960 census, leading Bremerton leaders to annex the shipyard the following year in an effort to include stationed sailors in those figures. While the Vietnam War spawned protests and sit-ins on the Olympic College campus, the city was relatively free of civil disorder during the 1960s.

With the 1973 selection of the Bangor Ammunition Depot 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Bremerton as the Pacific home of the new Trident submarine fleet, residential and commercial development began to move closer to Silverdale and farther from the Bremerton downtown core.

Numerous failed proposals were made at redevelopment beginning in the early 1970s, including discussions of a waterfront hotel and the erection of a large canopy over the central business district. Meanwhile, most of the city's office and retail space remained in the hands of Edward Bremer, son of William Bremer and the sole remaining heir to his wealth. (In order to receive their inheritance, William Bremer's three children were honor-bound to never marry.) Bremer began to neglect his properties, never increasing decades-old lease rates and failing to make necessary maintenance upgrades. In 1978, the Bremerton City Council passed an ordinance declaring the entire downtown a "blighted area."

Despite a hard-fought battle throughout the Mid-1990s by local politicians to have the decommissioned and mothballed USS Missouri, already in the Bremerton Navy Yard, stay in Bremerton as a museum ship and tourist attraction, Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton, awarded the ship to the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, HI in 1998. It now sits near the USS Arizona memorial to demonstrate where U.S. involvement in World War II started on December 7, 1941, and where it ended by the signing of the Peace Treaty by the Japanese on board the USS Missouri, on September 2, 1945.

A tunnel underneath downtown, traversing from the ferry terminal to Highway 304 (Burwell Street), has been newly opened that allows for a smoother egress for vehicles exiting the car ferry and make for a more pedestrian friendly downtown. A new fountain park above the tunnel blends water and art, along with the bow of a ship and the conning tower of a submarine as a tribute to the workers at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard over the years. The stations along the walk include pictures of the shipyard, workers, and shipbuilding and repair statistics.

The popular Blackberry Festival is held annually during Labor Day weekend on the waterfront boardwalk to celebrate everything Blackberry. Local residents, shopkeepers and growers bring their Blackberry ice creams, pastries, pies, jams, jellies, candies, and even ciders and wines to this annual event. Free entertainment includes music by local musicians and entertainers performing throughout the three day festival, the Berry Fun Run and the Blackberry Criterium Bike Race. Bremerton National Airport sponsors the annual Blackberry Festival Fly-In with shuttle service provided by Kitsap Transit to the festival. As the Festival's background story goes, the downtown waterfront of Bremerton where the festival takes place, was a massive overgrowth of wild blackberry bushes that were removed to build the waterfront Fountain Park, Boardwalk, Marina and Bus/Ferry Terminal.

Income & Housing Costs Numbers:

Estimated median household income in 2009: $39,037 (it was $30,950 in 2000)

Bremerton:	$39,037
Washington:	$56,548

Estimated per capita income in 2009: $22,792

Bremerton city income, earnings, and wages data

Estimated median house or condo value in 2009: $219,254 (it was $101,500 in 2000)

Bremerton:	$219,254
Washington:	$287,200

Mean prices in 2009: All housing units: $248,435; Detached houses: $255,432; Townhouses or other attached units: $330,310; In 2-unit structures: $233,564; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $269,581; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $187,629; Mobile homes: $109,277; Occupied boats, RVs, vans, etc.: $63,431

Median gross rent in 2009: $741.

Jan. 2011 cost of living index in Bremerton: 108.3 (more than average, U.S. average is 100)

In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

·       Climate Charts

1.      Average Temperature

2.      Precipitation (Rain)

3.      Humidity

4.      Wind Speed (MPH)

5.      Snowfall

6.      Sunshine

7.      Cloudy Days

·       Tornado Activity History

·       Hospitals & Medical

·       Airports

·       Colleges/Universities

·       High Schools

·       Locations of Interest

·       Shopping Centers

·       Churches

·       Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Creeks/Parks

·       Tourist Attractions

·       Banks

·       Housing Costs Information

·       Crime Statistics

·       Radio Stations AM/FM

·       TV Broadcast Stations

·       Discussion Forums

For the above information and photos, click this link:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Bremerton-Washington.html

Total Tax Burden--Data for Calculation

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLstate3.html#WASHINGTON

Listing of Active Retirement Communities:

http://www.retirenet.com/location/communities/239-washington/1-active-lifestyles?city=98312-bremerton

OTHER SITES OF INTEREST:

Silly Service--38 Years of Federal Civil Service (A book in progress, with weekly additions)

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Gillis Motor News (Monthly Listing of Car Events Nationwide)

www:Gillismotornews.com

World of Collectibles

http://www.collectibleshg.info

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http://www.zcanines.com

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http://www.zavians.com

Dance Sites

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World of Antiques

http://www.eantiques.info

MODEL TRAINS & RAILROADING

http://www.modeltrainsetc.com

Quilts, Quilters, & Quilting

http://www.quiltscentral.com

EZ Rides

http://www.ez-ride.com

OLD TRUCKS

http://www.zoldtrucks.com

EVERTHING MUSIC

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FARM TRACTOR COLLECTORS

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DESSERT FIRST

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SPORT & EXOTIC CARS

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HOME WINE MAKING

http://www.winemakingetal.com

OFF-ROADING

http://offroadingetc.com

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