Bay City,
Michigan is located near the Saginaw Bay at the juncture of two major
freeways, U.S. 10 and 1-75. The city is a major recreation and
entertainment center, approximately 120 miles north of Detroit. As the
county seat and largest municipality in Bay County, Bay City has been
a center of commerce, industry, government, and culture.
We have a broad economic base supported by
such well-known companies as General Motors Corporation/ Powertrain,
Dow Corning Corporation, S. C. Johnson Inc., and DowBrands. Local
companies include Monitor Sugar Company (Big Chief Sugar®), and Bay
Medical Center. Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University, in
addition to providing educational opportunities, are also substantial
employers in the community.
The city is experiencing a renaissance on the
Saginaw River, but it is also a living museum with a vibrant history.
The River of Time and the Historical Society Cotillion allow visitors
to step into history and experience it for themselves. The Bay County
Historical Museum has a wide range of exhibits and programs that
dramatize local history through the glacier, Indian, trapping,
lumbering and shipbuilding eras.
The City has three historic districts listed
on the National Register of Historic Places, exhibiting some of the
finest examples of architecture in the state, including such styles as
Second Empire, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Romanesque. The Center
Avenue Historic District alone has over 250 structures on the National
Historic Register, many of which are mansions of former lumber barons.
The City Hall on Washington Avenue is rated as one of the top ten
buildings in the state for historic restoration and is listed in the
National Archives of the Smithsonian Institute.
Throughout the year, recreational activities
draw thousands of people into the area. Some of the events include:
- 4th of July
Fireworks Festival, one of the largest fireworks displays in the
country drawing in excess of 300,000 people for the three-day show
- Festival of Lights, a variety of outdoor
Christmas displays along the riverfront from November 15th
through January 15th
- St. Patrick’s Day Parade
- River Roar, fast-paced Formula 1 boat
racing
- Pig Gig, a national barbecue cook-off
contest
A wide range of shopping opportunities can be
found in the city’s historic Downtown, which is the 1999 winner of
the "Great American Main Street" award from the National
Trust for Historic Preservation. Highlights include the Antiques
Center along the Riverfront, as well as a variety of boutiques and
bistros.
The Midland Street Historic District, is the
chief entertainment district in the city, with specialty shops,
eateries, and pubs.
Air travel is available from the Midland-Bay
City-Saginaw Airport, located approximately 10 miles west of Bay City,
and from the James Clement’s Airport, an airport serving small
aircraft.
