Day: January 10, 2025

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 50 Bates 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.

photo of 50 Bates Street in 2004
50 Bates Street NW, WDC 20001 blocked by a tree

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 50 Bates St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 50 Bates St NW (lot 200?) to Geneva M. Harrison, a widow.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mrs. Harrison borrowed $1,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 50 Bates St NW to James and Mildred Perry.
  • December 1950 the Perrys borrowed $1,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • July 1953 the Perrys lost their half to foreclosure and Evans, Levin and Taube regained ownership through and auction.
  • July 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed half to Marie E. and Willie Foster.
  • July 1953 the Fosters borrowed $2,468.86 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
  • September 1967 the Fosters were released from their mortgage.
  • April 1969 Mrs. Harrison was released from her mortgage.
  • November 1971 the Fosters and Mrs. Harrison sold the property to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
  • Possibly 1978 (no document) the DC RLA sold/transferred the property to Bates Street Associates Incorporated.

Ahh. Things were going so well, only one foreclosure, the people who bought the foreclosure were able to pay off the mortgage and then they sold to DC RLA. I guess the house was in poor shape.