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 happens with 203 P St NW:
- January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 203 P NW to Jane and Morris Guy.
- January 1951 those Guys borrowed $3,400 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 203 P St NW to widow Irma T. Walker.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Walker borrowed $3,250 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- December 1956 (recorded in 1958) Mrs. Walker lost her half to foreclosure. The property returned to the Colonial Investment Co. partners, Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt, via an auction.
- December 1956 (recorded July 1958), as part of a larger property package, the Badts transfer/sell their interest in 203 P St NW to Nathan Levin’s survivors.
- June 1959, as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold half of 203 P St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- November 1966, the Guys were released from their mortgage.
- January 1976 Morris Guy removed Jane Guy’s name off of their half of the property.
- October 1977, Shirley Guy James, administrator of Morris Leroy Guy’s will, transferred the property into her name.
- December 1978, George Basiliko sold his half to Lewis L. Washington.
I will leave it in the 1970s. Let’s check our WSIC checklist. Half of the building sold to two separate households, check. Foreclosure, check. Half or all of the property sold to George Basiliko, check. Sold to DC RLA or any associated private partners, nope.