Month: May 2025

Redeux- WSIC-1950s Sell Off- 43 Bates Street NW

This is based off a previous blog post for 43 Bates St 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. In 1956 Nathan Levin died and Colonial Inv. Co. vice president Harry A. Badt took his place in the foreclosure paperwork. 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.

The 45 Bates St NW post had some confusion and hopefully in this update I can do a better job.

Let’s see what happen with 43 Bates St NW:photo of propertyphoto of property

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 43 Bates St NW to Elizabeth and Neal Nelson.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951)the Nelsons borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 43 Bates St NW to Mrs. Irene Brown, James E. Rogers and his wife Perlina Rodgers.
  • January 1951 Brown and the Rodgers borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • September 1952 Brown and the Rodgers lost their half to foreclosure and through an auction it returned to Evans, Levin and Taube.
  • Sept 1952 Evans, Levin and Taube sold the foreclosed half to Bernice and Hickman Leathers.
  • September 1952 the Leathers borrowed $3,173.94 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
  • March 1954 the Leathers lost their half to foreclosure, and like the last time, Evans, Levin and Taube repossessed it via an auction.
  • April 1954 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed half to Leotta Francis, Isabell Forde and Rosalie Forde.
  • April 1954 Francis and the Fordes borrowed $3,186.77 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
  • September 1956 (recorded 3/14/1958) the Nelsons lost their half to foreclosure and ownership went to to Colonial Investment Co partners Harry A. Badt, Evans and Taube, though an auction.
  • September 1956 (recorded 8/27/1958, Doc 1958025810) Harry A. Badt and wife Jennie, transferred their interest in 43 Bates and other properties to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
  • March 1957 Francis and the Fordes sold their half back to Badt, Evans and Taube.
  • March 1959 Francis and the Fordes were released from their mortgage.
  • March 1959 (doc# 1959019387) Badt, Evans, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold the whole of 43 Bates St NW and other properties on the block to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • Between 1971-1972 Basiliko was released from several mortgages and the next document has the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) as the owner, so we are left to assume around 1970 Basiliko sold the property to RLA.
  • Around 1978 the DC RLA sold/transferred this and other properties to the Bates Street Associates. A contract (doc #7800024140) DC RLA and Bates Street Associates, Inc suggests the property was transferred around this time.

The Deadliest Part of Shaw in 1940

If it is 1940 and you’re living between 7th and New Jersey, your days were numbered.

It happened on the 600 block of Rhode Island in 1952, part 8 of many

This is the second look at 144-16-95 [Frank Ray, Melvin Clements; Loran Lovan Taylor, Roland L. Gay – Victims] for information about an incident that happened around the 600 block of Rhode Island Avenue in 1952.

We’ll skip over a few witnesses. If you want to read their testimony go to the link above for DOJ file 144-16-95.

I’m picking Buster Key of 1715 1/2 7th St NW because he seems to be one of the less than reliable witnesses.

INTERVIEW WITH BUSTER KEY

BUSTER KEY, 1715 1/2 7th Street, N. W., was interviewed on October 29, 1952 in Marion Court and advised that he has know the victim for several years and had seen him on numerous occasions in Marion Court. He stated that on July 13, 1952, he was visiting in the Court and at approximately 9:00 AM, he had noticed ZEKE in the Court. He pointed out that at the time ZEKE was not drunk and had come to a point where he, BUSTER, was standing and had given him a drink of wine from a quart bottle. BUSTER stated that he later left the alley and returned sometime in the late afternoon, at which time he noticed that ZEKE was sitting in a doorway on the west side of the alley at approximately 1721 Marion Court. He explained that when the police officers came into the alley, he was standing at a position opposite to ZEKE across the alley and that he had seen the police officers take ZEKE by his arms and walk him down the alley in the direction of “R” Street, N.W. KEY stated that at no time while victim and police officers were in the alley did he see any fighting or scuffling and that ZEKE was not hit by either of the officers during the period that he was in their custody, in Marion Court.
Continue reading It happened on the 600 block of Rhode Island in 1952, part 8 of many

Notice about Flickr photos

So I’m thinking about retirement. From the thing that pays me, not this. However, the thing that pays me supports the work I do here. It pays for the web hosting, the domains, and a bunch of other stuff.

One of those is a Pro Flickr account, where I have a slew of photographs hosted on the site. I haven’t used Flickr that much to host new photos since 2022. And though $75 a year isn’t that much, I need to start making this hobby cheaper.

I have downloaded my photos, but I need to start deleting some of the photos from the site. I think the limit is 1,000 and I have somewhere above 3,000.

Starting now I will begin mass deleting photos.

Memory Lane- Corner of P and 4th St and New Jersey Avenue NW 2008

Taken November 15, 2008

I am not sure but I believe the billboards that were on the corner were down.

Memory Lane: Darth Vader House-Anakin

Before the house I considered as the Darth Vader house, with it’s black exterior, was the Darth Vader house, it was getting built. And like Anakin, we had no idea of what it was to become.

1651 New Jersey Ave NW. Taken November 24, 2010.

It happened on the 600 block of Rhode Island in 1952, part 7 of many- Smoke Drinkers

This is the second look at 144-16-95 [Frank Ray, Melvin Clements; Loran Lovan Taylor, Roland L. Gay – Victims] for information about an incident that happened around the 600 block of Rhode Island Avenue in 1952.

In part 6 I had the testimony of Frances Bernice Smith. There was a little something extra after her signed statement. The smoke drinkers were the crack heads of the 1950s.

FRANCES SMITH advised that near the point where ZEKE was sitting when the police officers arrest im numerous “smoke drinkers” congregate. She stated that these individuals always built a fire and for all purposes lived sleeping on the spot both in rain and snow. She stated that these individuals, whom she referred to as “smoke drinkers”were people who had no fixed address and who spent their day drinking a mixture of paint remover and water which they shook in a coca cola bottle until it turned into a milky white substance. She advised that they then drink this liquid and always appear to be under the influence of this concoction.

FRANCES SMITH commented that through instinct these individuals, if they are able to navigate, would disappear around the block at the first sight of a police officer entering Glicks Alley. She added they no sooner would the officers be out of sight before these “smoke drinkers” would be in the alley.

FRANCES SMITH pointed out that on the day in question these individuals had disappeared when the police officers first came in the alley and that none of them would have seen anything which had transpired.

FRANCES SMITH further advised that she had seen ZEKE drunk on many occasions in Glicks Alley, that he was in her opinion a “smoke drinker”, and for all purposes was what was known as a “lush”, She explained that a person who got drunk and either locked up or went and layed down and slept his intoxication off . She pointed out
that he was not the type individual who became mean and nasty when intoxicated and that she had never seen him in a fight or possessing any type of a weapon.

FRANCES SMITH commented that the following individuals resided at 1707 Marion Court, NW:

AUDREY WESTER,

EDITH JOHNSON,

SAMUEL BURTON,

THOMAS CHRISTMAN.

These people were contacted and advised that they had not been present in the alley on the day that the victim was arrested.

1968 Map of Shaw’s Junior High Schools

I could make commentary. But I won’t. I’ve lacked skin in this game for about 4 years now.