Bay View High School opened in September 1914 with 150 students and 7 teachers.

With German teacher Gustav Fritsche as principal, the barracks grew to a bungalow, and in 1922 classes were held in a new school, still in use today.

Later renovations included the modernization of rooms and lighting; the separation of the east and west study halls into one-story units, later converted to classrooms; a library; and a little theater/conference center.

With new facilities, athletics became an important extra-curricular activity, and included football, track and field, basketball, swimming and cross country.

[10] In 2012 Milwaukee alderman Tony Zielinski described the school as unsafe after a fight at Bay View resulted in 30 students being arrested.

That year Alan J. Borsuk of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the staff at Bay View were making efforts to improve the school's performance.

In 2014 fewer than 20 students from Humboldt Park School matriculated to Bay View, due to the efforts of SpringBoard, an Advanced Placement (AP) preparation program.