Bay City, Michigan 48706
Front Page 04/25/2024 17:20 About us
www.mybaycity.com May 1, 2005
(Prior Story)   Columns ArTicle 766   (Next Story)

Downtown Stroll Highlights The Good and the Fixable

It's The Right Time to Fix Those Downtown Clocks

May 1, 2005       Leave a Comment
By: O. J. Cunningham

Printer Friendly Story View

It's always 9:13 on the clock on the former Kresge Building
 
It's always 8:06 on the clock on the Phoenix Building.

I was walking the streets of Downtown Bay City back in April. You remember "Back in April" . . . when it seemed that spring had actually sprung.



--- Advertisements ---
     



I was strolling Center Avenue . . . out taking pictures of the new Rotary sponsored Micro Park that is a beautiful addition to the landscape on the southwest corner of Center Avenue at Saginaw Street.

It was a beautiful day . . . temperature approaching 80 degrees . . . light breeze from the south . . . sunshine and nary a cloud in the sky.

I got to thinking about all the great things I love about Downtown Bay City. I started making one of those David Letterman "Top 10" kind of lists in my mind . . .

And then it hit me . . . I could never make a "Top 10" list of things I like about Downtown Bay City because I would surely leave out something important. I would fail badly at political correctness. I would inadvertently offend some local store owner. In the end, I decided it was just a bad idea . . .

So I decided to make a list of things I don't like about Downtown Bay City. My Reasoning: Why make everyone angry . . . when you can focus on just three (3)

Here's my short list of three(3).

Numbers one and two are a package deal since they both have to do with the same issue . . . and they're both at the same intersection -- Center and Washington -- The Clocks!It's time to get the clocks on the corner of Center and Washington working and set to the right time. I'm sure something as simple as this (getting a clock to work) must just be an oversight.

There are so many wonderful things being accomplished in Downtown Bay City, I'm sure there must be a couple of bucks to get the time right.

Too many times I've heard the bad (cheap shot) joke . . . "At least those clocks are right twice a day . . ." -- Yuk, Yuk, Yuk!

Let's call the Clock Doctor and put the Tic Toc back into Downtown Bay City.



--- Advertisements ---
     



Number three on the list: The Big Red Mill-End Letters Have To Go - I have to tell you . . . I have mixed emotions about the Mill-End Store. I have fond memories of the old Mill-End. I've bought lots of great fishing stuff in Mill-End over the years.

But I have to admit I was very happy to find out that the "old girl" was recently sold and is scheduled for a face lift. In recent years, the Mill-End sign on the side of the building has gotten shabbier with the passing of each year. I am looking forward to the scheduled re-modeling.

This Corner (Center at Water) is a prime location. The Planetarium and the Band Shell are perfectly matched at this intersection. The re-modeled Mill-End location will certainly fit better with the surroundings.

With that said . . . here's a short list (can't stop myself) of things I love in Downtown Bay City (no particular order).

  • The Red Grange Club Sandwich at Gatzby's
  • The Planetarium - You just gotta love little kids' faces after a Planetarium Show
  • Music at Night at the Band Shell - Family Entertainment
  • The Appledore - Parked Dockside at the Band Shell
  • Let's not forget the Tall Ships - Due Back in town (2006)
  • The New Library - It's gonna be awesome
  • Breakfast at Cracked Egg Omelette Shop
  • The Multi-colored Awnings up and down the Washington Avenue corridor
  • Antique Stores - They're everywhere!
  • The New Micro Park on the corner of Center and Saginaw
  • The Deck (in the summer) at the Kingfish Restaurant - Tiki Lounge
  • The mixed smell of chocolate and peanuts inside St. Laurent's Brothers (I still think their web site address should have been - nuts-since-1904.com)
  • Restaurants - Mulligan's, The Atrium, CafĂ© Appareil, State Lunch & Stock Pot
  • The "Mom and Pop" shops that dot our Downtown streets - What a glorious array of shopping delight!
  • Coffee Shops and Deli Shops - One in every block.
  • Corabelle's Ice Cream Shop and The Sweet Boutique
  • The State Theatre - I love old movies
  • The Grilled (Blackened) Chicken Caesar at Old City Hall - The best Chicken Caesar on the Planet

    That's quite a list . . .

    After naming all of these wonderful things about Downtown, it now seems a bit "nit-picky" to point to the clocks and the Mill-End sign as negatives.

    But as the saying goes . . . "When all your big problems are solved, your little problems become your new big problems."

    Did I mention how safe it is in Downtown Bay City? (Let's add that to my bullet list.)

    Now I actually feel guilty pointing out the clocks and picking on the Mill-End sign. I think I'll walk over to Old City Hall and have a Blackened Chicken Caesar.

    The Mill-End Store -- Downtown Bay City, Michigan
    I'm glad the big red letters are going to go away.


    Printer Friendly Story View
    Prior Article

    February 10, 2020
    by: Rachel Reh
    Family Winter Fun Fest is BACC Hot Spot for 2/10/2020
    Next Article

    February 2, 2020
    by: Kathy Rupert-Mathews
    MOVIE REVIEW: "Just Mercy" ... You Will Shed Tears, or at Least You Should
    Agree? or Disagree?


    O. J. Cunningham

    O. J. Cunningham is the Publisher of MyBayCity.com. Cunningham previously published Sports Page & Bay City Enterprise. He is the President/CEO of OJ Advertising, Inc.

    More from O. J. Cunningham

    Send This Story to a Friend!       Letter to the editor       Link to this Story
    Printer-Friendly Story View


    --- Advertisments ---
         


  • 0200 Nd: 04-21-2024 d 4 cpr 0






    12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm

    SPONSORED LINKS



    12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm


    Designed at OJ Advertising, Inc. (V3) (v3) Software by Mid-Michigan Computer Consultants
    Bay City, Michigan USA
    All Photographs and Content Copyright © 1998 - 2024 by OJA/MMCC. They may be used by permission only.
    P3V3-0200 (1) 0   ID:Default   UserID:Default   Type:reader   R:x   PubID:mbC   NewspaperID:noPaperID
      pid:1560   pd:11-18-2012   nd:2024-04-21   ax:2024-04-25   Site:5   ArticleID:766   MaxA: 999999   MaxAA: 999999
    Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)