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 140 Q St NW:
- January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 140 Q NW to Harriet B. and Paul S. Goodwin.
- Jan 1951 the Goodwins borrowed $3,150 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 140 Q St NW to George and wife Willie M. Cromer.
- Jan 1951 the Cromers borrowed $3,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- November 1954 the Goodwins sold their half back to Evans, Levin, and Taube.
- November 1954 the Cromers lost their half of the property to foreclosure. Evans, Levin, and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
- March 1959 the Goodwins were released from their mortgage.
- March 1959 the Colonial Investment Co partners and the Levin survivors, in a larger property package, sold their interest in the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- July 1970 (doc# 1970011877) Basiliko, as part of a large package, sold 140 Q and many other properties to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
- June 1980 DC RLA entered into a contract (doc # 8000020221) with BSA (Bates Street Associates) and transferred a large number of properties to the venture (doc # 8000020294, signatories on p.5) Bates Street Associates (BSA).
I’ll end it with the BSA. So there was one foreclosure and that was the same month when the remaining owners sold the property back to Colonial Investments. Then it went to George Basiliko, known landlord of “slum” properties. And then the pattern is continued when it was sold to DC RLA who passed it on to BSA.
George Cromer in the 1950 census was living at an apartment building at 1031 8th St NW with his wife Willie and their one year old son. He repaired tracks for the transit company. Prior to that, during WW2, they were at 1241 8th St NW and he worked for what is now PEPCO. According to that description he was a dark complexioned Afro-American man who was 5’9″ and 183 lbs.
In 1950 the Goodwins were living with family at 411 1/2 Franklin St NW…. Dang those houses are tiny. Less than 1000 sq ft tiny and there were 4 adults and 5 minor children in the house. Four of the children were the Goodwins’ kids. Paul was working for a construction company and Harriet was a maid. Her father Lewis Ruffin was a carpenter. Paul died in 1954, so that could be the reason the property was sold back to Colonial Investments.