WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 224 Q Street NW

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there was the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

photo of property

Let’s look at the post WSIC history of 224 Q St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/51) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 224 Q St NW to Sarah B. Carroll.
  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/1951) the widow Sarah Carroll borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/51) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 224 Q St NW to Christine B. and Jesse J. Carter.
  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/1951) the Carters borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • August 1953 Mrs. Carroll lost her half of 224 Q St NW to foreclosure and via auction, it was returned to Evans, Taube and Levin.
  • September 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 224 Q St NW to Freda A. and Zollie Lumberger. *Side note- they were a Black couple. See Zollie’s brother’s obit w/ picture.
  • September 1953 the Lumbergers borrowed $3,888.43 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • July 1954 the Carters lost their half of the property to foreclosure and via auction, it was returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube.
  • June 1959 as part of a larger package, Evans, Taube, new partner Harry A. Badt (and their wives) and Levin’s survivors sell their interest in 200 Q St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • April 1969 the Lumbergers settled their debt with trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.

It appears that this property was not sold to RLA and I can’t tell if and when it was consolidated under one owner.