Month: January 2023

There are a lot of these houses. I’m just going to publish these in big batches.

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.

Let’s see what happened with 1503 3rd St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold all of (not half) 1503 3rd St NW to James W. Smith.
• December 1950 Mr. Smith borrowed $7,950 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1951 (recorded in 1952) Smith sold the property to Miss Edith E. Matthews, and she sold back to him half of 1503 3rd St NW.
• Same November 1951 day Miss. Matthews sold the other half to Bell and George Myers Jr.
• November 1951, the Myers borrowed $3,750 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1957 the Myers lost their home to foreclosure and Evans, Taube, and new partner Harry A. Badt regained ownership via an auction.
• 7/3/1958 The Badts (Harry & wife) transferred their interest in this and other properties to Nathan Levin’s family (wife Rose, children Lawrence, Myron Levin and Ruth Wagman).
• November 1961, James W. Smith fulfilled his loan obligations.
• November 1961 the Badts, Evans, Taubes, and Wagmans sold the remaining half and other properties in a large package to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• December 1971 Basiliko and James Smith’s heirs sold the property to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).

There are a lot of these houses. I’m just going to publish these in big batches.

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.

Let’s look at 1507 3rd St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one half of 1507 3rd St NW to Rosie B. and Joseph King.
• January 1951 the Kings borrowed $3,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950, Evans, Levin and Taube sold the other half of 1507 3rd St NW to Lucille Moore Nauls and Thelma A. Triplin.
• December 1950, Nauls and Triplin borrowed $3,375 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1958, the Kings sold their half back to Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt.
• February 1960 Lucille M. (formerly Nauls) Ransom, her husband Ernest W. Ransom and Thelma A. Triplin sold the property back to Evans, Taube and Badt.
• November 1961 the Badts, Evans, Taubes, and Wagmans sold 1507 3rd St NW and other properties in a large package to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• At some point between 1971 and 1973 the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency obtained ownership of the property.

As a side note, in 1973 the house was condemned. The condemnation was cancelled in 1974. The condemned again in 1981.

There are a lot of these houses. I’m just going to publish these in big batches.

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.

Let’s see what happened with 1519 3rd St NW:

•  January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold half of 1519 3rd St NW to Delores M. and Thomas L. Brock Jr.
• January 1951 the Brocks borrowed $3,525 from from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
•  January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the other half of 1519 3rd St NW to Gladys Banks and Robert S. McGee.
• January 1951 Banks and McGee borrowed $3,525 from from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1953 the Brocks sold their half of 1519 3rd St NW back to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• March 1954 Banks and McGee lost their half of the property to foreclosure and Evans, Levin and Taube regained it via an auction.
• May 1954 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed half to Bettie K. and Charles R. Williams Sr.
• May 1954 the Williams borrowed $4,153.41 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1956 the Williams lost their half of the property to foreclosure. Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt regained ownership via an auction.
• May 1956 the Badts (Harry & wife) transferred their interest in this and other properties to Nathan Levin’s family (wife Rose, children Lawrence, Myron Levin and Ruth Wagman).
• November 1961, the Badts, the Evans, the Taubes, and Levin’s survivors sold this and other properties to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• At some point between 1971 and 1978 the DC Redevelopment Land Agency gained ownership of 1519 3rd St NW.

There are a lot of these houses. I’m just going to publish these in big batches this week.

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.

Let’s look at 1511 3rd Street NW:

• December 1950 (recorded March 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold all of (not half) 1511 3rd St NW to Lillian and George Shaw.
• December 1950 December 1950 the Shaws borrowed $7,000 from Colonial Investment Co. trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• September 1953 the Shaws sold one-half interest in 1511 3rd St NW to Hertlee and Maggie A. Johnson.
• September 1953 the Johnsons borrowed $3,729.80 and $547.02  at 6% and 5% interest from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• September 1953 the Shaws sold their half interest in 1511 3rd St NW to Beulah and Theodore R. Jackson.
• September 1953 the Jacksons borrowed $3,729.80 at 6% interest and $547.02 at 6% from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1961 the loan the Shaws agreed to in 1950 was foreclosed upon. It appears the Jacksons and the Johnsons were SOL and the property was regained by Evans, Taube and Levin’s survivors via an auction.
• November 1961, as part of a larger property package the Levin survivors, Evans and Taube and their wives sold 1511 3rd St to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• Sometime between 1971 and 1978 the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency obtained ownership.

In the end a lot of properties wound up in the hands of the RLA.

There are a lot of these houses. I’m just going to publish these in big batches.

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.

Let’s look at the post WSIC history of 200 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded 1/18/51) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 200 Q St NW to Joseph and Mary E. Bailey.
• December 1950 (recorded 1/18/1951) the Baileys borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded 1/18/51) Evans, Levin and Taube sold the other one-half of 200 Q St NW to James R. and Thelma L. Fields.
• December 1950 the Fields borrowed $3,375 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1952 the Fields sold their half to the Consolidated Engineering Distributing Company.
• February 1952 the Consolidated Engineering Distributing Company sold the property to Mattie N. Jackson. The paperwork doesn’t seem to acknowledge it is only half of the property.
• 2/25/1952 Mattie N. Jackson borrowed $1475 from trustees J. George Gately and James J. Goreman Jr. at 5% interest.
• February 1959 the Bailey’s lost their property to foreclosure and via auction, it was returned to Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt.
• June 1959, as part of a larger package, Evans, Taube, Badt (and their wives) and Levin’s survivors sell their interest in 200 Q St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• May 1970 Mattie N. Jackson sold her half to George Basiliko.

Basiliko did not wind up selling the house to RLA. Instead he sold it to the Bates Street Ventures Partnership in 1978. But then the Bates Street Ventures Partnership sold/transferred it back to Basiliko after the Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings condemned the building then uncondemned it. In 1984 Basiliko sold it to Florida Exclusive Properties…. this is  not Florida, nor in the 1980s were any of these exclusive. There are a mess of mechanics liens after that so I will end it here.