Month: December 2024

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 226 Q 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 226 Q St NW:

  • January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 226 Q NW to Harold B. Fitzgerald.
  •  Jan 1951 Fitzgerald borrowed $3,275 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 226 Q St NW to Mattie L. and William Morgan.
  • Jan 1951 the Morgans borrowed $3,275 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • May 1951 Fitzgerald sold his half to Sarah E. and Rufus J. Jones.
  • October 1962 Fitzgerald (now the Jones) was released from his mortgage, owning that half free and clear.
  • February 1964 the Morgans were released from their mortgage.
  • March 1967 the widow Mattie Morgan sold her half to Eneas J. and Katherine R. Whelan.
  • February 1977, the heirs of Eneas Whelan sold the half of 226 Q St NW to Robert W. Ayers I & II.
  • September 1980 the property somehow got caught up in the Bates Street Associates net. (See doc #8000029035)
  • April 1987 the Ayers sold their half to Sarah Jones, bringing the property under one owner.

I’ll leave it there in a good space. No foreclosures. People were able to pass down things to a slew of family members who quickly turn around and sell it. It’s probably best to ignore the Bates Street Associates thing.

Truxton Circle WSIC Wardmans

If I had good sense I would not write this.

I hope I am providing a good warning to my friends who live in TC WSIC housing. I am not for historic districts (I can be agnostic about landmarks) and I am very aware how my research can be used to create these things. Anywho, there are Truxton Circle Wardmans as highlighted by the site Wardman’s Washington. However, I am just going to look at the WSIC TC Wardmans.

photo of property47 Bates Street NW (2 Stories brick dwelling) —Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 7/16/1901
49 Bates Street NW (2 Stories brick dwelling) —Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 7/16/1901
51 Bates Street NW (2 Stories brick dwelling) —Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 7/16/1901
53 Bates Street NW (2 Stories brick dwelling) —Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 7/16/1901
94 Bates Street NW (2 Stories brick dwelling)— Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 9/10/1901
14 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
16 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
18 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
20 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
22 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
24 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
26 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
28 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
30 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
32 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
34 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
36 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
38 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
40 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901
42 O Street NW (2 Stories brick flat) — Architect: Bayliss, Mr. Permit Date: 5/31/1901

The architect was a Mr. Bayliss. So I went looking to see if I could narrow it down to which Bayliss in Washington, DC may have been the architect. I’m guessing it was William Bayliss.

In the 1900 census there was a William Bayliss at 1410 9th St NW whose occupation was listed as “Architect Govt”. Good enough for me. There were other Bayliss men working in DC, a R. inspector, a shoe store salesman, and the like. But so far only one an architect. I looked at the 1902 city directory (the 1900 directory didn’t have occupations) Major W. Bayliss at 1410 9th St NW was a draftsman.

A little digging showed that William Bayliss died in 1919 so I hoped his obit would tell me something useful. Nope. I did locate him in the 1914 Blue Book, a social directory, page 74 reads thus:

Bayliss, Major William, architect and government official of Washington, D.C., was born Nov. 8, 1848, in Canada. Since 1882 he has been superintendent of hospital construction in the office of the surgeon-general of the army.

I’m 80% sure this is the guy.

 

 

 

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 212 Q 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 212 Q St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 212 Q St NW to Anna L. and Blanton J. Bell.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Bells borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • December 1950 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 212 Q St NW to Miss Dorothy M. Bowles.
  • December 1950 Ms. Bowled borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • March 1961 Ms. Bowles was released from her mortgage and owned her half free and clear.
  • May 1962 the Bells were released from their mortgage and owned their half free and clear.
  • November 1971 Mr. Bell’s name was removed from the deed.
  • June 1980, for some mysterious reason, BSA (Bates Street Associates) Limited Partnership and partners Lawrence J. Brailsford (spelled Brailsforfd) , George (spelled Geroge) Holmes Jr. and Jack W. White took out a 1/2 million dollar mortgage with the John Hanson Savings & Loan using 212 Q St NW and two other properties as collateral.
  • April 1984 the DC Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings mailed a letter to Ms. Bell and Ms. Bowles at 1618 North Capitol St NW to condemn their property.
  • November 1984 Mrs. Bowles, a widow and Ms. Bell sold 212 Q to the DC government.
  • March 1985 the DC government sold the property to MANNA, Inc.

I will leave it there.  So it was a sort of good ending, except for the condemnation.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 204 Q 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 204 Q St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 204 Q NW to Margaret C. Dickson.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mrs. Dickson borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 204 Q St NW to Margaret E. Stewart.
  • Jan 1951 Mrs. Steward borrowed $3,275 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • April 1957 Mary Dickson, her sister Elsie Dickson, Edward, Garfield and Herbert Dickson, her brothers sold Margaret Dickson’s half to P.D Witherspoon
  • March 1958 the Dickson property was foreclosed and via an auction it returned to the portfolio of Colonial Investment Co owners Evans. Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt.
  • November 1961, as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives, and Nathan Levin’s survivors sold part of the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • March 1962 Margaret E. Stewart was released from her mortgage.
  • January 1963 Mrs. Stewart and the Basilikos sold the property to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
  • August 1979 (or thereabouts) the DC RLA transferred the property to the Bates Street Associates Inc.

So in conclusion, there was a foreclosure and the property did get sold to slum landlord George Basiliko. But on the plus one person managed to own the property free and clear. I feel bad for P.D. Witherspoon.