Day: October 23, 2024

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 28 O 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 were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.photo of property

Let’s see what happens with 28 O St NW:

  • February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 28 O St NW to Naomi C. and Marcus S. King.
  • Feb 1951 the Kings 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 28 O St NW to Cora M. and Leo D. Malone.
  • Feb 1951 Malone borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • September 1952 the Malones lost their half to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin and Taube via an auction.
  • September 1952 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed half to Alice Warren.
  • Sept 1952 Miss Warren borrowed $3,791.70 from Levin and Weightman.
  • March 1956 the Kings lost their home to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin and Taube via an auction.
  • June 1959 as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives and Levin’s survivors sold the foreclosed half of the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • July 1971 the Basilikos sold half of 28 and several other O St NW houses to the Housing System Dev. and Construction Corporation.

So two foreclosures. The rest of the property history is a little messy so I will leave it here. But I want to note that in 2010 the estate of Alice Warren represented by Vance Burden, sold the property.