Property Owners of Truxton Circle- – The Levitovs

So last time we looked at the Bundys, the African Americans who owned parts of Sq. 551 in Truxton Circle. So now I turn to the Levitovs, whose name appears on the image I was looking at several times.

Max & Rose Levitov appear twice (551-0846, 551-0855). Max Levitov (551-0854)appears once by himself.

The thing about Square 551, which is bounded by 1st, Q, 3rd, R and Florida Ave is that the houses that were once there, no longer exist. It is now Florida Avenue Park, the Northwest Co-op (not public housing), and the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. The other thing about S. 551 is that it was a commercial block. There was a dairy over on 1st Street and the block had warehouses and whatnot. So keep that in mind as we look at the Levitovs.

Having had worked at the US Holocaust Museum and having Jewish friends, the names Max & Rose Levitov just jump out at me as being Jewish. And the 1930 Census came through. Max was a Russian whom immigrated to America in 1909 and spoke Hebrew.

Let’s talk about Max. In his immigration papers his name is Maxduch Lewitau born in Piratin, Russia in 1883. He was a grocer. Around 1918 he lived at 135 Reeves Court NW, on Sq. 551. He also appears in Truxton Circle in the the 1920 census at 1603 1/2 3rd Street NW. In the 1930 census he is at 141 Florida Avenue NW over in Bloomingdale. But at the time of his naturalization in 1939 he had moved his family to 2135 Lee Hwy in Arlington VA.

He was married to Rose Etton (Etin/ Etten/ Itzen) Levitov in 1914. She’s listed as Rosa Levitov on his WWI draft card living on Reeves Court. She was also a Russian immigrant. She had 5 children who were all born in Washington, DC. Just looking at her picture, I wonder if she was a fun grandma. She was 4’10” tall and looks round. Perfect grandma shape and size.

Rounding back to Truxton Circle, their residence 135 Reeves Court NW (SSL: 551-0854) was held in Max’s name. However when I look at the Recorder of Deeds, it appears that Lot 854 runs along R St. because it is all part of the lot 19 package. Go back up to the image of the map and see Lot (19) which is made up of Lots 846 to 855. And the property is in both Rose and Max’s names.

I will admit property records confuse me a bit. I see Lot 19 is made up of these smaller lots, but on the tax rolls (see top featured image) are owned by a bunch of different people, including the Levitovs. Color me confused. Anyway, they sold that property on December 27, 1946.

In the 1920 Census they are listed as homeowners of 1603 1/2 3rd St NW which is Lot 200.  As I mentioned before, I am not particularly good at deciphering land records, but I think the Levitovs sold their 3rd St home in 1927.

Max owned other lots on Square 551. In total, from what I can tell, he owned Lots 12, 19, 21, 56, 67, 127, 200, 812, 846, and 854. When I look under Rose Levitov I find Lots 19, 21, 56, 67, 127, 200, 812, 846, 854, and 855.

When I did a larger search for Levitovs and Sq 551, I found a 1946 property document for lot 19, listing the Levitov adult children and their spouses. Apparently Max had died in 1945. According to Ancestry.com family tree, Rose died in 1977 in Washington, DC.