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 were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.
Let’s see what happens with 130 Q St NW:
- March 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-fourth of 130 Q NW to Daisy A and George W. Drakeford.
- March 1951 the Drakefords borrowed $4,300 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- March 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold another quarter of 130 Q NW to William H. and Eva R. Oliver (mother & son?).
- March 1951 the Olivers borrowed $4,300 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- June 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-fourth of 130 Q NW to Julia R and Frank J. Bush.
- June 1951 the Bushes borrowed $4,250 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- July 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the another quarter of 130 Q St NW to Alice B. Johnson.
- July 1951 Mrs. Johnson borrowed $4,325 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- June 1954 the Olivers lost their property to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube via an auction.
- November 1957 the Drakefords lost their property to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, new partner Harry A. Badt, and Taube via an auction.
- November 1957, as part of a larger property package the Badts (Harry and wife Jennie) transferred/sold their interest in 130 Q and other properties to the Levin survivors.
- March 1964 the Bushes were released from their mortgage (they paid it off) and owned their fourth free and clear.
- May 1958, in an unusual twist, the Levin survivors lose their interest in 130 Q St and several other properties to foreclosure. Or it appears so.
- April 1972, the Bushes, the Levin survivors, their spouses, Evans, Taube and their spouses sold their portions of 130 Q St NW to the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency.
- Sometime between 1972 and 1978 the DC RLA transferred ownership to the Bates Street Associates.
This had not only one but three foreclosures and so close together. This makes me wonder if buyers were set up to fail. The Bushes were the only ones to avoid foreclosure and the property eventually was owned by the DC RLA.