The downtown core of Bremerton is filled with history, preserved in its tradition and memory as well as its buildings. And in the midst of a surge toward revitalization, the Kitsap County Historical Society wants to make sure that the past is not forgotten in the ambition of the future.

To help Bremertonians and Kitsap residents beyond realize and appreciate the city’s architectural significance, a KCHS historic sites committee has organized a free, self-guided walking tour starting with a reception at 5 p.m. Aug. 3 at the museum on 4th Street. Following introductions, the tour will meander through downtown pointing out historic buildings and telling their stories.

For example, the Pacific Avenue commercial addition connected with the Elks Temple and Lodge on 5th Street was the building from which President Harry Truman addressed thousands in 1948.

And another tidbit, before finding its home in its current 5th Street building and becoming the headquarters for the Kitsap Regional Libraries, the Bremerton Public library opened above the city’s horse stables.

Those types of facts and quirks are what the historic society hopes to protect, said historic sites committee chair Annetta Butler said.

The all-volunteer committee has pulled together a host of facts and figures on 12 different downtown Bremerton buildings and compiled it into pocket-sized brochures which tour-goers can take along and learn from during the walking tour.

The KCHS also hosts other guided and bus tours of Kitsap, but this provides the opportunity for folks to see the sites for themselves at their own pace. Unfortunately, tour-goers won’t be able to actually walk in and around each building but rather just see and read about each site as they walk by.

“The Admiral (Theatre) is a prefect example of what we should be doing with our historic buildings,” Butler said.

Walking by the Admiral on Pacific Avenue, one wouldn’t immediately know that the 1942-built historic theater was forced out of business in the late 1980s due to competition with the new multiplexes of the day.

The Admiral Theatre Foundation organized, saved and renovated the building, reopening in 1994 and remaining so to this day.

Bremerton’s infrastructure is riddled with stories of both success and disappointment in retaining its historic sites. The KCHS is hoping for even more of the former into the future.

Here’s the list of all the buildings’ histories which the KCHS has documented for the Aug. 3 walking tour:

1. The Kitsap County

Historical Society

Museum, 280 Fourth St. (1950)

2. Harlan Building, 402

Pacific Ave. (1922)

3. Elks Temple and Lodge

No. 1181, 285 5th St. (1921)

4. Medical Dental Building,

5th and Pacific (1920)

5. Bremerton Public

Library, 612 5th St. (1938)

6. Admiral Theatre, 515

Pacific Ave. (1942)

7. U.S. Post Office, 6th and

Pacific (1937)

8. Braman Home, 237 6th

St. (1936)

9. Eagles Aerie #192, 205

6th St. (1941)

10. Building 50, Bremerton

Naval Museum, 1st and

Pacific (1896)

11. Bremerton Trust and

Savings Bank, 202 Pacific

Ave. (1914)

12. Roxy Theatre, 270 4th

St. (1941)