August Walk to Reprise 1979’s Walk Through Historic Bay View

The Bay View Historical Society’s annual August Walk will be held on Saturday, August 3rd starting at 9:30 am. The walking tour, led by Society members Ron Winkler and Greg Wernisch, will begin at the South Shore Pavilion, 2900 S. Shore Dr. The cost is $5.00 for members of the Bay View Historical Society and $10.00 for nonmembers. Anyone who signs up to become a member of the society on the day of the walk will be admitted for $5.00.

Each participant will receive a copy of the Walk Through Historic Bay View brochure. The Walk Through Historic Bay View was held on August 25, 1979 as part of Bay View’s Centennial Celebration and was the Bay View Historical Society’s first walk which is now an August tradition. The society has a series of nine walking tours researched by Ron Winkler to help Bay Viewites and visitors gain an appreciation of the area’s history, architecture and lifestyle.

Length of the walk is approximately two miles and will cover the area from South Shore Park north to Conway Street between Lake Michigan and the Lake Parkway.  Learn about the original Bay View, built in 1867 as the company town for the Milwaukee Iron Company.

Welsh Congregational Church – Six families from Wales founded the Milwaukee Welsh Church in 1868 and built this church in 1873 at what today is 2739 S. Superior Street. This photo, from the mid-1950s, was taken before the current owners, the Christian Science Society, bought the church in 1957.

Palmer House – The Palmer House, 2425-27 S. St. Clair St. is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally a hostelry for sixty people and over the years it has been a bakery, tavern and restaurant.

South Shore Park Pavilion – The South Shore Park Pavilion was built in 1933 during the Depression as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. The design is Mediterranean Revival with terra cotta ornamentation and an Italian tile roof. It is a Milwaukee County and Bay View Historical Society landmark.