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Historic Building 50
On Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 10:00 in the morning the Grand Opening of Bremerton's Naval Museum was held in its new location down on the waterfront in Harborside Fountain Park. This story isn't about the museum which in itself is over 50 years old, this story is about a building and the care and compassion the Bremerton community took to make a dream come true.
BUILDING 50 Building 50 was the oldest building located at the historic Puget Sound Naval Shipyard before it was relocated to its current location by the United States Navy. The 114 year old building under went a two million dollar renovation which took a little over two years. This grand lady has been moved 5 times in 52 years of operation. She was pretty beat up when the City of Bremerton rescued her. Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman was quoted as saying, "Someone told me the good news was we had secured building 50. The bad news was I went over and toured it. We walked around the building and it was in pretty severe disrepair and I wasn't even sure we could move it."
Where there is a will there is a way. It took 30 months to plan and complete the full restoration and the operation of moving Building 50. Congress helped get $1.6 million to renovate the building, $200,000 to move the museum in and another $1 million a year to operate the museum. This historic building now holds historic displays. During World War II the ships damaged in the attacks on Pearl Harbor were brought here to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) to get repaired. There is a Pearl Harbor display at the Museum. This Building 50 holds the history that is Bremerton's link with the Navy and PSNS. She sits proudly on her new land. When you approach from Harborside Fountain Park you must walk straight out to the front to see her in all her glory. When I walked inside I had tears in my eyes. I stepped softly and began to visit when all of a sudden the missing of my husband who is a Unites States Navy sailor over came me and I decided to leave until he could tour the museum with me. There are several other exhibits including USS Parche (SSN 683), a USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Room, shipyard art, a dry-dock theater, history on Building 50 and it also has a gift shop. Building 50 and the Naval Museum made the news a couple of weeks ago when it was announced that she would be given to the Navy. Puget Sound Navy Museum became part of the Naval Historical Center system. The Bremerton site has been operated by the city and run by volunteers for decades and will now receive federal funding for professional staff and more exhibits. Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter approved the move on March 23, 2008. Bill Galvani, director of the Keyport museum, will also direct the Bremerton facility. The Navy operates just 14 museums nationwide, and two of them are now in Kitsap County.
There is a room that adjoins Building 50 called the Fountain Room which has access to the museum and a fantastic view over Harborside Fountain Park the buildings new home. The Fountain Room leads into the museum and is used for many museum events. The room is also used by the general public for gatherings, weddings, commissioning by the Navy and Navy retirement banquets. The same company that designed these fountains designed the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. If you look clear out you will see a ferry docked unloading passengers. Building 50, Bremerton Naval Museum is located in the Harborside Fountain Park which is right next to the ferry terminal.
There are still some finishing touches needing to be completed in the front of the site - a Memorial Park for one. There is a "sail" that is embedded in the concrete in front of the long entrance to Building 50, Bremerton Naval Museum. |
  
Building 50
Copper Fountains
Fin
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