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 227 P St NW:
- January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 227 P St NW to Anna B. and Louis E. Brown.
- January 1951 the Browns borrowed $3,150 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 227 P St NW to Alice O. and Herbert F. Williams, Sr.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mitchell borrowed $3,000 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- September 1959 the Browns lost their half to foreclosure. The property returned to Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt via an auction.
- September 1959, as part of a larger property package, Harry and wife Jennie Badt transfer their interest to Nathan Levin’s survivors.
- November 1961, as part of a very large property package, Badt, Evans, Taube (and their wives), and the survivors of Nathan Levin sell their half of 227 P and other properties to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- April 1968 the Williams sold their half to George Basiliko.
- Sometime between 1971 and 1974 the property was sold to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.
- August 1979 (I suspect 1978 but there are pages missing from document # 7900028039) the DC RLA sold/transferred the property (as part of a larger deal) to Bates Street Associates, Inc.
Alright looking at the WSIC bingo card we have property sold as two separate halves to two different households, check. At least one foreclosure, check. Purchase by George Basiliko, check. And also sold to the DC Redevelopment Agency, check.