Enjoy a virtual tour through Bay City’s historic districts
with Google Earth, and meet some of the citizens who helped shape the community we know today.
The Bay County Historical Society has partnered
with Map-N-Tour to present these tours, which include not only information about each structure, but vintage photographs,
biographies and much more.
The Center Avenue Historic District
Bay City’s early days as the “Lumber Capital of the World” began
a heritage that continues today through hundreds of examples of fine architecture. The Center
Avenue Historic District is a nationally registered district with almost 1000 properties, many of them the late 1800’s
mansions of lumber barons and shipping industrialists. These well-preserved homes, churches and other structures reflect
the rich history of our community and exhibit some of the finest architecture in Michigan.
We would like to credit "The Historic
Architecture of Bay City, Michigan" by Dale Patrick Wolicki and the Bay County Historical Society (2008) for much
of the information contained in this virtual tour. This book may be purchased in the Museum Store.
