For Immediate Release

March 1, 2007

NAVY APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDING
FOR NAVAL SHIPYARD MUSEUM PREP

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy has approved a total of $197,000 for development of the exhibits and interpretive materials to be placed in the new Naval Shipyard Museum in Building 50, which has been relocated to Bremerton’s waterfront, Rep. Norm Dicks said Thursday.

            The congressman said he was informed by the Navy Secretary this week of the decision, which accelerates the plan to use the Shipyard’s most historic structure for a museum that will feature the city’s and region’s naval heritage, as well as the role of naval shipyards.  Building 50 was designed in 1896 and built during the initial period of development of the Naval Station.  It originally housed the offices of the Commandant of the Shipyard and it remains one of the oldest buildings in the area.

            “The release of the Navy funds this week will provide an immediate boost for the museum plan, allowing the Navy to begin exhibit development and to contract for services for museum usage,” Rep. Dicks said.

            The congressman has been a champion of the plan to restore the building, once slated for demolition, and he encouraged the Navy to move the structure outside the shipyard perimeter and onto the tract that has been turned into a waterfront park, serving as a security buffer between downtown Bremerton and the shipyard gate.

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