Elmo's Adult Books & Movies has been on Callow Avenue in Bremerton for 47 years.

SHARE The Turf News is another adult store on Callow Avenue in Bremerton that has felt the impact of the Internet.

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON — A loyal customer base and the ebb and flow of Navy ships has kept a small red-and-yellow storefront on Callow Avenue in business for nearly a half-century, Barbara Bowlan said.

But the branch manager for Elmo's Adult Books & Movies, a small chain of stores in Washington carrying pornographic titles, is frank about the economics of operating in the 21st century.

"It is very tough in this business, I'm not going to lie to you," she said. "I've watched it go down as the Internet has grown. We used to have a lot of movie renters, but now it's much easier to stream online."

The Internet has inflicted great pain on many brick-and-mortar retail businesses, yet a few pornography shops on Callow, including Elmo's, have managed to survive. Bowlan says that's due to a customer-oriented experience.

"You can buy anything on the Internet, but often, you have no idea what you're actually getting," said Bowlan, who also pointed out downloaded Internet porn can sometimes come with viruses.

Elmo's has been in Bremerton 47 years, she said. Its sister stores also cater to areas with a military presence in the Tacoma area, as well as one in Pasco frequented by some long-haul truckers, she said.

Their presence on Callow Avenue hearkens back to a day where Bremerton had more than just a few porn shops.

"Pornography, and the ladies of the night, go back to the very first day that Bremerton existed," according to Russell Warren, a local historian who specializes in the Charleston area, where he grew up.

Not long after the establishing of the shipyard, taverns in Bremerton — known to double as bordellos — sprang up rapidly around the turn of the 20th century, Warren said. Crime and disorder stemming from them reached a point that the shipyard leaders threatened to abandon Bremerton if the city did not cut off the saloons from serving alcohol, he said.

Throughout the city's history, prostitution, often in the form of "massage parlors," has maintained. As late as 2007, a health spa, on the 100 block of Callow, was raided and the operators arrested on suspicion of promoting prostitution.

Today, those on Callow doing business of the legal variety remain, though in one case the line has been blurred. Jerry Woodhead, owner of Callow's Turf News, was arrested by Seattle police in early March for promoting prostitution, according to the King County Jail's website. He's since posted bail.

City Councilman Dino Davis, who represents the area, believes businesses there have an "exclusivity of market" that's kept them profitable.

"There's no other choice," said Davis, who noted he views the pornography industry overall as predatory. "Not everybody has high-speed Internet at home."

Ron Kropp, who works at Turf News, said there's no doubt that the Internet's "cut into our bottom line." He believes the Navy of today has a "zero tolerance" position on debauchery, that at times, spills over into his line of work, leading to fewer customers.

Mayor Patty Lent noted that all towns with a Navy presence seem to have an "adult section."

Bowlan of Elmo's said retail demand does indeed change as sailors come and go from the area.

"We know the minute a ship docks," she said. "And we know the minute a ship leaves."