It was built due to overcrowding at Bay City Central and T. L. Handy High School.

In 1973, new boundaries were established, with mostly everyone west of Two Mile Road attending Western High School.

When the building opened, construction on some parts of the facility had not yet been completed, including the main hallway, the swimming pool, the football stadium, and the commons.

In some cases, students ate their lunches on top of carpet rolls in the commons that had not yet been installed.

[citation needed] Western High School has the usual number of academic departments.

The center began remodeling at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year by getting new carpet, adding couches, and chairs, and replacing the old bookshelves with new ones.

There is also a second floor which consists mostly of math, human services, social studies, and computers, as of which a middle school portion is connected in the east wing.

The lower portion of the first floor on the south side of the school consists of science, social studies, and English.

Heading north are the administration offices which are halfway between the lower level and the second floor, which leads to the main entrances, commons, and gym on the west side.

Bryant Auditorium seats about 1200 people and is used for various activities, including school plays and presentations.

It consists of a small vending area and a corner store where students can buy school supplies and snacks.

The pool area is connected to three separate rooms and contains an emergency exit door.

The Bay City Western Football Stadium is commonly referred to as "The Cornfield" due to its close proximity to various farm fields around Auburn.

The band marches from the east wing of the school to the football field, to the sound of their cadences which can be heard from inside the stadium.

From there they form a W, representing the school's logo, and play their alma mater and star-spangled banner.

In more recent times the band has started performing one of their most famous routines - Trombone Danger Line.

This consists of the trombone section and the drumline lining up on the home side of the track at the end of the 1st quarter.