Norman D. Dicks: “This is an amendment that affects a project in my hometown of Bremerton, Washington. The downtown Bremerton library…”

“This is an amendment that affects a project in my hometown of Bremerton, Washington. The downtown Bremerton library building opened in August 1938. Now, that may sound recent, but, remember, Washington has only been a State since 1889. The building was funded under the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was one of Franklin Roosevelt's principal public works programs that helped America recover from the Great Depression. The building is constructed in an art deco style which was a signature style during the twenties and thirties and a favorite today of preservationists across the country. The building has a large rotunda with skylights. Because of its distinctive style, the library remains one of the most attractive buildings in downtown Bremerton. Like many art deco buildings, the library has a very bright color, in this case a vibrant yellow. The downtown Bremerton library was constructed on land that has housed a library for nearly a hundred years. When this library opened in 1938, it served as the main library. The City of Bremerton and Kitsap County combined their library system in 1955. In 1978, a new headquarters library was built for the regional system and the downtown library became a branch library. The library in downtown Bremerton has been undergoing rehabilitation for the last 1 1/2 years. The city invested $100,000 last year in general fund money and $100,000 from its community development block grant funds.”