July & August 2019 Events

Downtown Historic Churches Walking Tour

Saturday, July 27 – 10:00 a.m.

Corner of Capitol and Ottawa at Central United Methodist Church

       You asked and we’re responding! After many requests, HSGL
is refreshing our walking tour of downtown historic churches. The
tour will include some of Lansing’s oldest congregations and most
beautiful historic buildings, including Christ Community Church
(formerly First Baptist), Central United Methodist Church, St.
Paul’s Episcopal Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, First
Presbyterian Church, the former Christian Science Church (at 505
Seymour) and we’ll finish at the old St. Paul’s German Evangelical
Church, located at Walnut and Genesee. We’ll be talking about a
variety of topics, including architecture, the relationship between
churches and the capitol, how churches benefited from the local
auto industry, and the evolution of a German congregation during
World War I.

Pave the Way: Intersection of I-496

and Education

Saturday, July 27 – 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

EC3 Educational Child Care Center (former Main Street

School), 1715 W. Malcolm X Street

        “Intersection of I-496 and Education” will explore the
changing dynamics of education in Lansing during the 1960s,
including desegregation of schools and busing. Former teachers
at Main Street School will participate in a panel discussion, and

the Pave the Way Project will collect ephemera, photographs and
video memories, along with hosting a curated bus tour of the
I-496 route. Anyone who went to school at the Main, Lincoln,
Michigan, Kalamazoo and Sexton schools are invited. Also
during the event, the presentation of the Morris-Peckham Award
will be made, honoring Adolph Burton and Kenneth Turner for

their work preserving local history.

A Pave the Way Tour of Important

West Side African American Homes

Thursday, August 22 – 7:00 p.m.

Sexton High School, 102 McPherson

HSGL will be hosting a walking tour on the West Side

focusing on African American history as it relates to the Pave the
Way project. The tour will include the homes of the Letts family
(of Letts Bridal), the McGuire family, doctors, dentists, lawyers,
elected officials, and others. The tour will provide insights into a
tight knit African American neighborhood created as the result of
the I-496 construction. The tour is in cooperation with the West

Side Neighborhood Association.