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 26 O St NW:
- February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 26 O St NW to Geneva T. and John L. Huffman.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Huffmans borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- February 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 26 O St NW to Adeline and Ozie Nash.
- Feb 1951 the Nashs borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- July 1953 the Nashs borrowed $459.92 from trustees Mary Herbert and Jacob Sandler to be paid to Consolidated Engr. & Distr. Co. Inc.
- June 1954 Geneva T. Huffman lost her home to foreclosure. Via an auction the property returned to the ownership of Evans, Levin and Taube.
- April 1957 the Nashs lost their half of the home to foreclosure and the ownership returned to the Colonial Investment Co owners.
- March 1959 as part of a larger property package, new owner Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold 26 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- July 1971 the Basilikos sold the whole of 26 and other O St NW properties to the Housing System Dev. and Construction Corporation.
So there were two foreclosures and the house went to Basiliko.