WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1505 3rd 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 see the ownership history of 1505 3rd St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1505 3rd St NW to Patricia E. & Sterling G. Brown.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Madden borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1505 3rd St NW to James Mitchell.
  • Jan 1951 Mitchell borrowed $3,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • November 1957 Mitchell lost his half through foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Taube, and new partner Harry A. Badt via an auction.
  • March 1958 the Browns also lost their half through foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Taube, and Harry A. Badt via an auction.
  • November 1957 and March 1958, as part of a larger property package, Harry Badt & his wife transfer a portion of their interest in this and other properties to Levin’s survivors.
  • November 1961 (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell 1505 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • Sometime before 1980, the property fell into the hands of the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.

All boxes checked. Foreclosure, checked twice. Transfer to George Basiliko, check. Eventual ownership by the DC RLA, check.