On Saturday, September 30, The Historical Society of Greater Lansing will host “If These Walls Could Talk,” the season’s last walking tour, a gentle walk through the south portion of REO Town, beginning at the former Grand Trunk Railway Railroad Depot at 1 p.m. and concluding at Ellison Brewery, 1314 S. Washington.

The walking tour will proceed north on S. Washington for a few blocks covering the buildings holding Blue Owl Coffee (once a topless shoeshine parlor) and Saddleback Barbeque once holding a fruit stand, the site of a murder in 1925.

The tour will then cross the street and go South to Ellison Brewery with discussions about the architecture and the businesses which occupy and occupied the area over time.

The tour is led by Harrison Leffel-Jones and discussions will include the history of the Depot, the details of the often-violent Fruit Wars of the early 1920s and the link to REO Motors and the activities of the REO Club House. Along the way there will be discussions about the original home of the UAW/CIO, the various meat markets, grocery stores and the Shaey Hotel.

Author of the book Michael Rodriguez, an MSU Librarian and Board member of the REO Transportation Museum, will discuss the history of REO at the Ellison Brewery.

Bill Castanier, president of the Historical Society, said the tour will cover some of the little-known aspects of this vibrant commercial district which once had a “rough and tumble” history and was so seminal to the history of Lansing.