Old Town East Side

Connel Street Skate Park

Connel Street Skate Park was built on the site of the old McCoya Manufacturing plant. The McCoya plant manufactured airplane parts during WWII and went on to become a premier supplier for aircraft parts in the next half century. Due to taxing regulations, McGoya moved its manufacturing hub to the Alliance Corridor north of Fort Worth, Texas, leaving the old facility behind. The existing building was razed, the site was donated to the city, and Bay City elected to put in the skate park as a draw for youth in this struggling section of Old Town.

The skate park is sponsored by Corona Tower as part of its annual tax abatement from Bay City with additional sponsorships from the smaller businesses in Uptown, including Masti's, Swizzel's Shoes, and The Luncheon Lady.

We first visit the skate park in Book 1 of The Human-Hybrid Project, Shattered by Glass.

Kang's Garage

Kang's Garage is located in the southeast part of Bay City, an older area known as East Side just east of Stanwick Hill.

Kang's is notable for being the location where Garik Shayk discovered his Street Strider, his jet-turbine bike, rotting away underneath a shredded tarp.

The garage is located on Meyers between Canfield and Hoover. From City View Apartments, follow Avenue C east 15 blocks past the Cowden Street Bridge, and go south on either Hoover or Canfield for 4 blocks. If you pass Summit, you've gone too far. Circle the block back to Meyers. A large, neon sign of a wrench turning a nut looks down on the surrounding real estate. You can't miss it.

We first learn of Kang's Garage in Book 1 of The Human-Hybrid Project, Shattered by Glass, although we never actually visit it.

Stanwick Hill

Stanwick Hill is topped by the Ransom Communications Building, which towers over Bay City, even Corona Tower.

The Ransom isn't as tall as the Tower, but Stanwick Hill gives it a boost, perfect for the communications array at the top of the Ransom.

The Hill, as old-time residents call it, is named for Colonel William Stanwick, a player in the Mexican-American War, who traveled across the United States and the lands to the west to free California from its Mexican overlords, only to die in the first armed conflict of the journey when he attacked the Presidio of Cassel Bay in the early hours of December 6, 1846.

Stanwick Hill is bordered on the east by the powerline right-of-way. The area surrounding Stanwick Hill is often called Far South Bay City, one of the oldest sections of the city. Most original buildings on the Hill are long gone, and the ones there now are often decades past their prime. Even so, Stanwick Hill is considered prime real estate in Bay City.

There is a small museum dedicated to Col. Stanwick in the Ransom Building, although it is visited infrequently. You can visit Stanwick's grave south of Bay City. Follow Park Avenue south until it becomes Cemetery Road, then look for the historical marker.

Stanwick Hill is introduced in Book 1 of The Human-Hybrid Project, Shattered by Glass.

City Hall

Bay City's new City Hall was an answer to a question no one had thought to ask when the original City Hall at First and Sycamore was built in 1894.

The Old City Hall survived two earthquakes but not the growth of Bay City. The Old City Hall became a museum and a park, and the new City Hall found a home eight blocks northeast.

The new City Hall takes up six city blocks along Ninth. Three blocks of Eighth Street between Connel and Douglas were subsumed into the new city complex on the east-west axis, and two blocks each of Forest Avenue and McKinley running north-south. The new City Hall sits at the northern border of Old Town East Side, and city maps reflect that. However, for all practical purposes, most people consider the location part of the Uptown East Side, which starts just across Ninth and extends to The Marshes northeast of the city.

A major benefit of the new location for Bay City's City Hall is its proximity to the Bay City Police Department. They are separated by the parking garage that services both the Police Department and City Hall. Access is through under-street walkways at Sixth and at Eisenhower.

From the new City Hall, Corona Tower is visible down unobstructed Forest Avenue, which dead ends into Corona Street at Corona Tower.

We are introduced to the new City Hall in Book 1 of The Human-Hybrid Project, Shattered by Glass.

Ransom Communications Building

The Ransom Communications Building is located at Summit Ct. W. and Park Avenue on Stanwick Hill. The array of communication dishes and other broadcast paraphernalia atop the building can be seen from across Bay City.

The Ransom is owned by Corona Corporation, although much of the interior is leased to various information providers that service Bay City.

Although Garik Shayk knows little about the Ransom, it is a background landmark as intrinsic to Bay City as Central Park, Corona Tower, and Waldorf's Deparment Store.

There are several ways to reach the Ransom Building from Garik's apartment on Maple. The easiest is to take Maple south two blocks, go east on Avenue F eleven blocks, and south on Park Avenue one block. The Ransom will be on the right, although you cannot access the Ransom from Park. Right on Summit Ct. W. will circle the Ransom and bring you back to Park. From the East Side, the powerline right-of-way separates Park Avenue from Powerline Drive for about twenty blocks, and you can only cross the powerline right-of-way at Cowden to the north or Buda to the south. Both require you to use Park or navigate additional streets to reach the Ransom.

We are introduced to the Ransom in Book 1 of the The Human-Hybrid Project, Shattered by Glass, but Garik first visits the iconic structure at the end of Book 3, The Mirror Cracks.