The Historical Society of Greater Lansing is hosting part one of a two-part walking tour of REO Town, 10 a.m., Saturday, August 12. The tour commences at Cooley Gardens on Malcolm X Blvd. near the corner Malcolm X and Washington Blvd. Learn more about the early history of REO Town when it was still called “Uptown” and will visit several sites including the Cooley-Haze home once the home of Gov. G. Mennen Williams, two apartment buildings: Washington Apartments and Fountain Place; the Krentel Bldg; the old Standard Oil gas station and REO Town Market, a former automotive dealership.

In addition, tour attendees are encouraged after the tour to stop at Sleepwalkers for a beer to learn more about a national gambling scandal that shook Lansing in 1970 involving a major Lansing businessman and Dizzy Dean, a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs along with being a popular broadcast announcer.

The second part of the tour will be September 28 and will complete the southern portion of Washington Blvd.

The tour guide is Harrison Leffel-Jones who serves as the Development Director for the Lansing Regional SmartZone. In his role, he focuses on delivering and coordinating services to help businesses grow within the Greater Lansing Region in coordination with LEAP, the City of East Lansing, the City of Lansing, and the MSU Research Foundation. Harrison is a native of Brighton, Michigan and an MSU Grad with a degree in Arabic Language and Comparative Cultures – he has spent most of his career working in economic development both locally and internationally. He is a massive urban planning nerd that is always studying what makes cities and public spaces work better for the people that live in them. Harrison moved back to Lansing a little over a year ago after being in Chicago and London and is excited for this next chapter in Lansing.