Bay View Cottage Walk 2018

Seven unique historic cottages will be open to the public during the 2018 Bay View Cottage Walk, July 10 in the picturesque Victorian summer community just north of Petoskey on the shores of Little Traverse Bay. Delicate gingerbread trim, pastel paint palettes, original wood flooring and furniture passed down through the generations make these cottages special. One of the homes on the tour, built in 1877 is filled with light reflecting off the bay and is decorated with a summery palate of whites and neutrals, dotted with modern orange accents. The original cottage was very small. The current-day dining room fills the entire footprint of the original cottage. Beneath it, in the small basement and adjoining crawlspace, you can see the cedar tree trunks that served as the original foundation. While that original foundation has been shored up through the years and is now secure, the sloping, uneven floors throughout the cottage attest to the shifting and settling of those early makeshift supports. Most Bay View cottages boast a similar lineage. The self-guided walking tour also includes four Bay View campus buildings: two museums, the beautiful library (with more than 9.000 titles) and Evelyn Hall, built in 1889, as the summer headquarters of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. An optional picnic box lunch, live music and educational presentations will round out the day. Easy parking at Petoskey High School with a free shuttle to historic Bay View will be available. Bay View is built on a gently rolling hillside overlooking Little Traverse Bay and due to their age and history, the buildings featured on the tour are not handicapped accessible. Get tickets and information at BayViewAssociation.org.