In that year, Navy Lieutenant Ambrose Barkley Wyckoff purchased approximately 190 acres (77 ha) of waterfront land on Sinclair Inlet.

Three years earlier, a U.S. Navy commission determined that Point Turner, between the protected waters of the Sinclair and Dyes inlets, would be the best site in the Pacific Northwest on which to establish a shipyard.

Recognizing the large number of workers such a facility would employ, Bremer and his business partner and brother-in-law, Henry Hensel, purchased the undeveloped land near Point Turner at the inflated price of $200 per acre.

Darling cited reports from commanders that the Bremerton waterfront was rife with prostitution, opium houses and frequent strongarmed robberies of sailors.

Politics were probably also at play, as local newspapers reported that the city's incorporation left the shipyard essentially landlocked without room to expand.

A dispute ensued between Mayor Croxton, who wanted to shutter all saloons in Bremerton, and three members of the city council, who attempted to block his efforts.

Growth due to the war effort and the 1918 annexation of the city of Manette, east of Bremerton on the Port Washington Narrows, can be seen in the 1920 census, which reported a population of 8,918.

Roosevelt made a campaign stop at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on August 12, 1944, giving a national radio address in front of a backdrop of civilian workers.

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.

Despite this, there is a bronze plaque attached to the corner of the building declaring that spot to be the place where the phrase "Give 'em hell, Harry" was first uttered.

With the return of World War II soldiers, the need for post-secondary education became evident to officials of the Bremerton School District.

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.

In 1998 "Mighty Mo" was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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.

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.

[citation needed] In 1978, the Bremerton City Council passed an ordinance declaring the entire downtown a "blighted area".

Sears, J.C. Penney, Montgomery Ward, Nordstrom Place Two, Woolworth and Rite Aid all closed their downtown Bremerton stores in the 1980s and 1990s.

That same year, the Bremerton Historic Ships Association opened the destroyer USS Turner Joy (DD-951) to public tours at the end of the boardwalk; the ship was built in the Puget Sound area in 1958, commissioned in 1959, and had played a back-up role in the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident that further escalated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War with the Congressional passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing President Lyndon B. Johnson to send fighting troops in addition to the "advisors" already on the ground in Vietnam.

The Waterfront Fountain Park and Naval History Museum adjacent to the Bremerton Bus/Ferry Terminal opened in 2007, and a newly expanded marina with more boat capacity was completed in 2008.

However, construction delays and economic downturn forced the builder of the publicly funded Harborside Condominium complex, the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, to fall $40.5 million in debt.

Located on the waterfront just steps away from the Kitsap Conference Center, the park features five large copper-ringed fountains, wading pools, and lush landscaping.

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.

Local residents, shopkeepers and growers bring their blackberry ice creams, pastries, pies, jams, jellies, candies, and even ciders and wines to this annual event.

As Bremerton's historic center, downtown has seen the most dramatic change over the last decade, with blighted blocks being replaced by new apartments, and older buildings being restored.

The Admiral Theatre, a restored 1942 Art Deco theater,[11] is Bremerton's most prominent venue for live music and entertainment.

The city is in the beginning stages of creating a public square on Fourth Street to honor local music icon Quincy Jones.

Union Hill is a predominantly residential neighborhood, showcasing Bremerton's most historic churches and a synagogue along Veneta Avenue.

Near Veneta and 6th is Bremerton's most architecturally notable place of worship,[citation needed] Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church; non-native towering sequoias; and a large park.

This arrangement was an attempt to balance Bremerton's commercial influence with the remainder of the county, though most of its sales tax base has since relocated to unincorporated areas.

[20] As with most cities in the region, Bremerton precincts have historically been more favorable for Democratic candidates in state and federal elections, contrasting with more conservative-leaning voters in rural areas of the county.