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 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.