Building the Bremerton Waterfront: Art Anderson’s Legacy
For more than six decades, Art Anderson has been part of Bremerton’s transformation from a waterfront of mere utility into a vibrant destination for residents, visitors, and boaters alike. As a Bremerton-based engineering firm that began in 1957 with an office originally on First Street, we’ve had a front-row seat and an active hand in shaping the shoreline into how it exists today.
Our marine and port infrastructure expertise and our ‘in-the-thick-of-things’ office location, made it natural for us to be involved in the many projects that developed Bremerton’s waterfront. Over time, our engineers have contributed designs and modifications of Bremerton’s waterfront features including the boardwalks, breakwaters, ferry terminals, marinas and marina facilities to support our growing port community.
Last month, the Art Anderson team took a staff field trip to the Bremerton Marina to learn of the storied projects we’ve supported there over the years. Chief Engineer Sean Hoynes, who has been with Art Anderson for over 40 years, led our team on a tour of the ferry docks and breakwaters, highlighting the many changes our firm has engineered for the waterfront. It was a valuable opportunity for our growing team of engineers, especially our many new employees, to see firsthand the types of infrastructure Art Anderson has been designing for decades.
1960s–1990: From Sandy Shoreline to Growing Marina
In the late 1960s, Bremerton’s waterfront looked very different. It consisted mostly of sandy embankments, open parking, and a modest wharf on First Street that welcomed visitors from the water. Marina moorage was limited, and the Wheelhouse Tavern stood as one of the few waterfront landmarks.
Art Anderson’s early contributions included improving access, utilities, and moorage facilities and laying the groundwork for more robust marine activity in the years to come.
Projects Art Anderson played a key role during this era included:
- Pump Station at the end of 2nd Street observation deck design
- Bremerton Waterfront Walk schematic design (1988)
- First Street Dock Floats deck coating analysis (1988)
- First Street Dock Gangway Replacement
- Bremerton Marina Guest Moorage conceptual design of 50 slips that could be expanded to 220 slips in the future, including utility and fueling upgrades (1990)
1990s: Boardwalks, Breakwaters, and Museum Ships
With long-term planning underway, the 1990s saw major steps toward creating a true destination waterfront. Expansion of the marina required better breakwater protection to offset ferry wake and improved systems for expanded moorage. The engineers at Art Anderson played a central role in developing the boardwalk and amenities, enhancing ferry terminal landings, and helping transform the USS Turner Joy into a permanent museum ship complete with a gift shop.
Projects Art Anderson played a key role during the 1990s:
- Marina utilities and gangway upgrades to better serve incoming boats (1991)
- USS Turner Joy permanent mooring in 1991, designing a frame to support the stern of the ship and connect it to the city marina
- Harbormaster’s Office & Marina Support Facility design and construction support
- B-Float analysis to repurpose this old WSDOT float to a two level centerpiece facility connecting the boardwalk (via trestle) with the breakwater and passenger ferry operations.
- A-Float naval architecture design and hydrodynamic analysis to serve as Kitsap Transit’s passenger-only ferry loading
- Ferry wake wash studies to determine the water movement of foot passenger and vehicle ferry traffic, as well as environmental impacts on marine life
- Passenger-only fast ferry route and docking analysis
2000s: Transportation Hub and Expanded Marina
The early 2000s brought the construction of the Bremerton Transportation Center, creating a truly intermodal hub for ferries, buses, and foot traffic. Art Anderson designed new floats and moorage systems, including designing the A-Float and relocating B-Float for extended docking capacity for a new fleet of passenger-only ferries. The new walkways incorporated grated surfaces that allows light to pass through the decking to preserve inter-tidal sea-life vitality & benthic habitats.
In 2007, the Harborside Fountain park opened and the USS Turner Joy was rotated to function as part of a larger marina breakwater system. Our team designed the current 1,400-foot floating breakwater wall that protects both public and private moorage from wind and wake. The design of this massive floating wave attenuator won the 2007 Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award in Ports and Waterways Engineering for Art Anderson and Reid Middleton.
Projects Art Anderson played a key role during the 2000s:
- B-Float, gangway trestle, and A-Float installation and construction support to create a WSF passenger-only ferry dock
- Bremerton Transportation Center design and construction support
- Bremerton breakwater and marina expansion providing full design for a new 1,400-foot long, 8,400-long-ton (nearly 19 million pounds) floating breakwater system
- B-Pontoon analysis to repurpose this section of old marina breakwater to serve, in conjunction with the newly concepted A-Float, as the Port’s physical barrier/breakwater between the vehicle ferry terminal
- A-Float and B-Pontoon outfitting for utilities and passenger and vessel amenities to create the current Kitsap Ferry fast passenger-only ferry terminal
- Ferry tunnel construction management support for new vehicle queuing
- Lone Sailer Statue foundation design, structural analysis, material selection and construction drawings
- In 2025, Art Anderson performed an ADA Accessibility analysis at the Bremerton Transportation Center for Kitsap Transit
Looking Ahead
Over the decades, the Bremerton waterfront has grown from a sandy, rocky shoreline into a vibrant marina district through thoughtful engineering and community investment. Art Anderson has been there every step of the way, designing infrastructure that supports commerce, transportation, and public access to the water that makes this area of the Puget Sound so unique. As Bremerton continues to grow, we’re committed to shaping a waterfront that serves the next generation.
2025 is off to a strong start at Art Anderson, with ten new staff members joining our team. This period of growth reflects the momentum we’ve been building. Over the last five years, we’ve completed more than eighty port and waterfront projects, many right here in the Salish Sea. As we grow in size and scope, the Art Anderson legacy continues to shape and strengthen the waterfront communities of the Puget Sound region.
