Day: January 24, 2023

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 220 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.

photo of property

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.

Let’s see what happens with 220 Q Street NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/51) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 220 Q St NW to Ernestine and John Dawson.
  • December 1950 (recorded 1/18/1951) the Dawsons borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold  the other half of 220 Q St NW to Mary C. and William Robinson.
  • January 1951 the Robinsons borrowed $3,275 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • September 1953 the Dawsons lost their half of the house to foreclosure, and Evans, Levin, and Taube regained the property via an auction.
  • September 1953 (recorded 10/1/1953) sold half of 220 to Phylitus O Norris.
  • September 1953 (recorded 10/1/1953) Ms. Norris borrowed $3,888.43 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • July 1954 the Robinsons lost their half to foreclosure, and Evans, Levin, and Taube regained the property via an auction.
  • March 1955 Ms. Norris sold her half back to Evans, Levin, and Taube.
  • March 1959 as part of a larger package, Evans, Taube, and Levin’s survivors sell all of 220 Q St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • July 1970, the Basilikos, as part of a larger property package, sell 220 Q St NW to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).