Bremerton: Art, Bridges, History and a Naval Destroyer - Sunday, August 9, 2020

It's another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest; only a few little clouds in the sky. Bob and I met up with Diane Howell Evans at the starting point of the Bremerton, Washington Volksmarch. Bremerton is famous for its historic Naval and maritime history. Today we'll be doing a 10k walk across a bridge, through a park, walk on the Olympic College campus, and then head downtown where we'll see art, history, the Washington State Ferry Terminal, and the USS Turner Joy.

We started our walk across from Evergreen Rotary Park and immediately made our way to the Warren Ave. Bridge which spans Port Washington Narrows of the Puget Sound. 

Warren Ave. Bridge.

Port Washington Narrows.

The Olympic Mountains.

On the other side of the bridge, we hiked down steep stairs and headed to Lions Park. Lions Park is spacious and very green! 

Sit and enjoy the view of Port Washington Narrows.

Lions Park Picnic Pavilion.

Killer whale play area.

After circling the park and enjoying the water views, which are prevalent in this part of the Northwest, we headed up the hill and back over the Warren Ave. Bridge on our way to the Olympic College campus. 

Re-crossing the bridge.

A view of Mt. Rainier from the bridge.

Boaters in Port Washington Narrows.

Olympic College

Physical Education Building.

Campus Clock Tower.

Haselwood Library.

Below is a sculpture affectionately referred to on the campus map as the "Pi sculpture."

"Signs & Symbols_Symbols & Signs,"
by Barbara Grygutis (2009).

The following two photos have sculptures made of used skis. There must be a ski team on campus!

Little Free Library, scarce on books!

"Snow Fence," a collaborative sculpture by
students in Sculpture 1, Spring 2015.

After a brief walk through the campus, we made our way downhill and walked through neighborhoods on our way to historic downtown Bremerton. 

Lincoln Avenue Bible Church.

Gorgeous hanging baskets.

Cute name for this vintage goods store.

Pacific Planetarium.

Bremerton, Washington, post office.

Admiral Theater (well named in a Navy town!).

There were some fun sculptures in Bremerton. Diane and I tried to emulate the one below.

Close, but no cigar.

We continued on and found lots more to look at and read. It's fun to think about all that occurred in this city over the years. In June 1948, Harry S. Truman first heard the words, "Give 'em hell, Harry," while speaking in front of an enthusiastic crowd assembled at the intersection that is now memorialized by the plaque below.

One of the clocks for "Rockin'
Around the Clock" special program.

Very stylized mural of the 1930s.

Note that the fish is fishin'.

When you look at this sculpture above, you can see the fish is holding a fishing pole. It is angled kitty-corner across the intersection. On the other side, is a fisherman with his mouth open trying to take the bait. 

The fish is angling for the angler. LOL.

The old Roxy Theater.

Here's a different choice for your "Rockin'
 Around the Clock" special program.
(You can't use them both.)

Sit, stay, drink.

We walked through Harborside Fountain Park which is chock full of historical markers. Many of the markers honor women who worked on the home front during World War I (the Great War).

 For example, Esther Bielmeier, who was born in October 1900. During WWI Esther and her sister Nora hired into the Shipyard as rivet heaters, passers, and catchers. They took turns heating the rivets for the ships and tossing the heated rivets to the catchers who delivered them to the male riveter. Esther worked in the Shipyard from 1918 to 1920. She passed away on Mother's Day 1989.

Esther Bielmeier heating rivets.

Women workers at
Puget Sound Navy Yard.

The women above are taking a break. They are holding their tongs and rivet buckets in front of a ship in dry dock. Rivets were used in the ship's hull before welding techniques were used.

In the photo below: It was 1917. Here women are operating engraving machines. Each machine received power from an individual motor in contrast to other smaller shops where one motor served many machines. The Machinery division went from 775 employees in 1917 to 1,561 civilians in one year!

Historic displays show many other facets of life at the Puget Sound Ship Yard. It's worth your time to try to read all the faded signs.

The photo below shows "boilermakers standing in front of boiler for Cruiser USS Saratoga in Building 109. This Cruiser, formerly renamed, USS New York, was renamed Saratoga in 1911. She was in the North Atlantic Squadron when the Spanish-American War began, and was flagship during the Caribbean campaign that let to the Battle of Santiago on 3 July, 1898. Fro 1898 to 1916, New York (later Saratoga) served off Latin America, in Asiatic water, the eastern Pacific, the Atlantic, and off Europe." (The quote above is from the display.)

1915 Boilermakers

Diane examining a warship display.

Bob is pointing out the Joiner's Shop War Record.

Things got more interesting as we moved down the street to the submarine conning tower.

USS Parche, America's Most Decorated Ship. 

The USS Parche was a nuclear-powered submarine that conducted many special operations between 1976 and 2004, all of which remain classified to this day.

You can find this "sail" outside the Puget Sound Navy Museum. Unfortunately for us, the museum was closed. I think our walk would have been a whole lot longer had the museum been open!

The many functions of Building 50.

Architectural facts of Building 50.

Changes to Building 50 over the years.

We sure wish we had been able to check out the museum here!

Part of our walk was closed (Harborside Park--due to COVID-19), as in, the gate was locked.

Locked gate to Harborside Park. 

We simply walked around on the upper-level driveway to the Bremerton Transportation Center and looked down at Harborside Park. 

Harborside Park as seen from above.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

We walked by the Bremerton Transportation Center and continued down to the lower level which has a plethora of things to check out...

The marina.

The founder of Bremerton's plaque.

"The Proud Tradition," sculpture by Larry Anderson
(for Puget Sound Shipyard's Centennial in 1991.)

The detail in the center of the propellor.

Etching or engraving in the propellor itself.

Markers for U.S. Navy ships.

U.S.S. Saratoga honors.

Naval destroyer ex-USS Turner Joy (normally
open for tours, now closed until stay at
home requirement is lifted due to COVID-19).

MK-48 Heavyweight Torpedo.

U.S.S. Enterprise.

As we walked, Bob reminisced about his time bidding roofing and siding jobs in this area for Cobra Roofing Company which became Cobra Building Envelope Contractors (BEC). (Cobra BEC was bought out by Flynn Total Building Envelope in 2018.)

We are making our way back to the finish point, but wait, there's more! The Daffodil Valley Volkssport Association (DVVA) really knows how to cram a lot of good stuff into a walk!

Unique manhole cover.

Art on a retaining wall.

Heron art on a retaining wall. 

This carving made me do a double-take. I
thought it was a real bald eagle at first glance.

At this point, we had the option to add 1k to our walk by crossing Manette Bridge and coming back to this point. My feet and knees were hurting, so I declined going over and back. Bob and Diane decided to skip it, too.

Next, we came to a park with a great memorial to 9/11. Not only does it have pieces of the towers, but there are stories to read around the base. One could spend hours here reading.

A reminder of why many people live here: boating.

As we finished our 10k, we realized how much work it takes to plan and put together one of these walks. Thanks, DVVA, for a memorable walk in Bremerton, Washington. We wouldn't have seen a lot of this if it weren't for you!