Former City Hall may welcome Heritage Route drivers to Tawas

The Bay City Times reports on the efforts to repurpose the old Tawas City Hall as a welcome center for travelers on the US-23 Heritage Highway.

A group behind the creation of the new US-23 Heritage Route, which runs from Standish to Mackinaw City, says the stone-sided structure on the shores of Tawas Bay would be a nice stopping point on the 200-mile trip. "It's been a landmark there for years and years," said Thomas Ferguson, head of Michigan's Sunrise Side Travel Association.

The house-like building was mothballed in 1999 when Tawas City determined the building had structural problems and was unsafe for city offices.

Ferguson said his hope is to find some grant or foundation money that could rehabilitate the building for use as an interpretive center about Great Lakes history. The facility also would serve as a welcome center on the Sunrise Side Coastal Heritage Route, he said. The Tawas City Council recently passed a resolution supporting the concept and has scheduled a public hearing for Monday to add the building to the city's recreation plan.