Author: Mari

I have written up 100+ histories of former Washington Sanitary Improvement Company houses. I’m sure this is getting boring for the few of you who are reading these histories. It’s getting very repetitive for me.

I don’t plan on stopping, just taking a break to look at other Truxton Circle stories and maybe related WSIC players. I’m all about tedious research, and getting into the details most gloss over, but I need to shake it up a little.

Doing this work has improved some of my research skills. I’d like to revisit some stories I’ve told before.

I’ll return with more WSIC-1950 Sell Off- TC Address posts after Black History month.

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 1539 Third St NW:

•  January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1539 3rd St NW to Florence and John H. Green Jr.
•  January 1951 the Greens borrowed $3,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded January 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1539 3rd St NW to Virginia M. Lewis.
• Dec 1950 Ms. Lewis borrowed $3,375 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1954 the Greens lost their half to foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Levin, and Taube via an auction.
• November 1961, Harry Badt (new member of Colonial Investment Co.), Evans, Taube, Levin’s survivors, and their spouses sold the foreclosed half to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• February 1965, Virginia M. Lewis was released from her mortgage.
• May 1976 Virginia and William Green sell their half of 1539 3rd St NW to George Basiliko, Inc., having the whole property is under one owner.
• Sometime between 1978 and 1981, Basiliko sold the property to Bates Street Associates Limited. Possibly it was sold to the DC RLA who then transferred it to Bates Street Assoc. Limited.

Okay now I’m curious. What are the odds that a woman who owns half of the property winds up marrying someone with the same surname as the other owners?

So looking on Ancestry, there were several Virginia M. Lewises living in Washington, DC in 1950. But only one was Black. The Afro-American Virginia M. Lewis was a 40 year old divorced woman who lived at 1108 Florida Ave NE for the 1950 census. She was listed as the head of household, working as a nurse for the District government. She lived there with her three adult daughters, Dorothy L., Juanita M. and Mary V. Lewis. A 63 year old waiter named William C. Thomas was listed as her “partner”, Hazel R. Foster and the Mitchells (all between the ages of 22-37) were listed as lodgers.

From what little I can find on Ms. Lewis she was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1910.

I’m not sure about the Greens. I can find a John A. Green married to a Florence Green, but not John H. Those Greens lived at 118 S St NW in 1917-1918. I’ll leave it there since there is not much to go on.

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.

This property is listed as lots 25 and 805.

Let’s see what happens with 125 Bates St NW:

• March 1951 (recorded 4/20/1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-fourth of 125 Bates NW to Annette and Cornelius M. Smith.
• March 1951 (recorded 4/20/1951) the Smiths borrowed $3,800 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold 1/4 of 125 Bates St NW to Haywood J. Pough.
• April 1951 Pough borrowed $4,250 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold a quarter of 125 Bates St NW to Willie P. Blakeney.
• May 1951 Blakeney borrowed $3,800 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
• June 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold one-fourth of 125 Bates St NW to Edward L. and Fannie E. Rodgers.
• June 1951 the Rodgers borrowed $4,300 from Levin and Weightman.
• July 1954 the Smiths sold their unit back to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• January 1955 the Rodgers sold their unit back to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• May 1957 Blakeney was foreclosed upon and via an auction was held by new partner Harry A. Badt, Evans, and Taube.
• May 1957, as part of a larger property package, Harry and Jennie Badt sold/transferred their interest in 125 Bates to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
• September 1962 Haywood J. and wife Willa Mae Pough sold their portion of 125 Bates Street NW to Evans, Taube and the Nathan Levin survivors.
• April 1972, Evans, Taube, the Levin survivors and their spouses sold 125 Bates St NW to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• June 1980, as part of a larger property package, the DC RLA sold the property to the BSA Limited Partnership (Kenneth S. Colburn, Lawrence J. Brailsford, Jack W. White and George Holmes Jr. signatories).

Looking at this apartment building it appears that it was unrealistic that a family could buy a unit and keep it. I wonder why the three families sold their units back to the Colonial Investment Co. partners. These people borrowed a large amount of money only to give up on their bit of the American dream of home ownership.

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 47 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 47 Bates NW to Felecia and Isaac Gray.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) the Grays borrowed $2,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 47 Bates St NW to Emma and Wilbert Pittman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) the Pittmans borrowed $2,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1952 the Pittmans sold their half to Miss Edith E. Matthews and the Pittmans were released from their mortgage.
• May 1953 Ms. Matthews sold her half to Miss Bessie Jones.
• May 1953 Ms. Jones borrowed $3,544.13 from Levin and Weightman.
• August 1954 the Grays lost their home to foreclosure and through an auction the property was returned to Evans, Levin and Taube.
• November 1962, as part of a larger property package, new partner Harry A. Badt, Evan, Taube, Nathan Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold the foreclosed half to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• September 1967, Ms. Jones was released from her mortgage.
• January 1979, George Basiliko sold his half to Karl A. Newman.
• December 1981, the estate of Bessie Jones transferred ownership to themselves and others, Novarna Williams, Mary Magelene Childs, Thema Dukes and Alice Mayo and they then sold the half to Miss Lucille Simms.
• January 1989 Karl A. Newman wound up selling his half back to George Basiliko.
• March 1998 Ms. Simms sold her half to George Basiliko, thus making Basiliko the sole owner of 47 Bates St NW.

Well, that’s a new one. It had a foreclosure but the time from the foreclosure to the eventual sale to Basiliko was several years. I wonder if Colonial Investment Co. also did rentals/property management. Yes, the weird part was that it became Basikikos in the 1980s. Typically, I try to cut these off in the 1970s when the DC Redevelopment Land Agency buys it from Basikikos, which didn’t happen here. But I was curious of when the property fell under one owner and I see Basikikos pop up again. Weird.

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 1523 3rd Street NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1523 3rd St NW to Elizabeth Y and Fred Russell.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Russells borrowed $4,250 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 1523 3rd Street NW to Delilah W. and James P. Young.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Youngs borrowed $4,250 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1959 Delilah Young’s name was removed from the deed due to divorce.
• May 1960, Mr. and Mrs. Russell were released from their mortgage.
• May 1963 Mr. Young (and ex-wife) was released from his mortgage.
• November 1990 widow Elizabeth Y. Russell (Fred died 8/23/1985) sold her half to James P. Young, bringing the house under one owner.

This house managed to avoid the usual WSIC problems. There were no foreclosures. There was no opportunity for George Basiliko to buy any part of it, nor did the DC Redevelopment Land Agency nor any of their private partners have anything to do with it. It had a good outcome.

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 228 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold 228 Bates St NW to Sylvia T. and Charles S. Adams Jr.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) the Adams borrowed $5,800 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• July 1952 the Adams split the house into two halves for each of them. Charles and his wife Evelyn Snipes Adams got half and Sylvia, his mother, got half.
• August 1952 Sylvia T. Adams borrowed $2,892.76 from Levin and Weightman.
• August 1952 Charles and Evelyn Adams borrowed $2,892.76 from Levin and Weightman.
• March 1953 Charles and Sylvia Adams were released from their December 1950 mortgage.
• May 1957 Charles and Evelyn lost their home to foreclosure and ownership went to new Colonial Investment partner Harry A. Badt, Evans and Taube via an auction.
• May 1957 (recorded 7/3/1958), as part of a larger property package, Harry and Jennie Badt sold/transferred their interest in the property to Nathan Levin’s survivors.
• March 1958 Sylvia Adams lost her half of the house to foreclosure and through an auction ownership went to Badt, Evans, and Taube.
• March 1958 (recorded 7/3/1958), again, as part of a larger property package, Harry and Jennie Badt sold/transferred their interest in the property to Nathan Levin’s heirs.
• March 1959, in a large property package, Evans, Taube, Levin’s heirs and their spouses sold 228 Bates St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• Probably around 1971, as the document cannot be located, Basiliko sold 228 Bates to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• June 1980, the DC RLA, in a large property package, sold 228 Bates to private partner BSA Limited Partnership.

I actually had to look up and see who the Adams were because I got confused as to who was Sylvia Adams and what was her relationship to Charles S. Adams Jr.   In the 1950 census at 714 P St NW the Adams family was headed by Charles C.(S.?) Adams, a 45-year-old African American waiter. His wife, 40-year-old (listed as 36 yo) Sylvia Turner Adams worked as a clerk for the Veteran’s Administration. They lived with their four sons and one daughter, of which then 19, Charles Sperrill Adams Jr was one of their children. Previously, in the 1940 census, the family lived as several of many lodgers of Frank and Edith Barner at 2022 15th St NW. Charles Sr. worked as a waiter and since the children were younger, Sylvia then 30 years old, was a homemaker. Charles Sr had an 8th grade education, whereas his wife Sylvia had two years of college.

Late 1951 Charles S. Adams Jr. married Evelyn Snipes. As we saw, they were the first to lose their home to foreclosure. However, it appears that they were comfortably owners of another home. Before losing half of 228 Bates St NW to foreclosure, they bought 6122 7th St NW in 1955 taking out a $4,392.86 loan from trustees Chalmers F. Groff and J. George Gately. They managed to keep their 7th St home for many decades.

Before I end this let’s see how this home did and did not fit the WSIC house pattern. What was unusual was that the house was with one family before it was foreclosed upon. The foreclosure and the sell off to George Basiliko and his selling it to DC RLA was par for the course.

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 226 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 226 Bates St NW to Marie and William Gray.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Grays borrowed $2,525 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 226 Bates St NW to Marion M. and Marvin J. Sharpe.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951)  the Sharpes borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• October 1963 the Grays paid off their mortgage.
• March 1964 the Sharpes paid off their mortgage.
• March 1980 the Grays sold their half to the Sharpes.
• March 1980 Marion E. Sharpe borrowed $6,500 from George Basiliko and Leonard C. Collins.
• December 1990 widow Marion E. Sharpe added son Edward Gray to the deed.
• January 1991 Marion E. Sharpe was released from her Basiliko and Collins loan.
• September 2005 Edward Gray sold the house to George Basiliko.

Jesus wept.

Normally, I stop looking at a house after the 1980s or if when I hit the current owner or their relative. But I saw Basiliko’s name and had to follow it until I got to him. There were no foreclosures, but even despite that George Basiliko manages to get his hands on another Truxton Circle home. I figured if you got past the 1970s without trouble you’re good. But no.

There were a few other things that caught my eye. One being the note on document #9000068154 that Edward Gray was Mrs. Sharpe’s son. The Grays were the other family who owned the other half of the property. The other was a notation on document #2005139232 selling the house to Basiliko.

So I found it curious that Marion’s son had the same surname as the other family. I found the Sharpes and Ed Gray in the 1950 census. They were living at 820 Florida Ave. Marvin Sharpe was a 33 year old construction laborer. Edward Gray was an 18 year old construction laborer. The census enumerator tried to fit into the relationship field that Gray was the son of the wife of the head.

In the deed to Basiliko there are several interesting bits of information. First is the death of Marion E. Sharpe who died January 10, 2005. Second is a long footnote regarding the chain of title.  First they note that Marion’s middle initial is ‘E.’ not “M.” as recorded earlier. The Sharpes divorced on May 19, 1966. I tried to find a connection between Marion Sharpe and the Gray family, but came up empty.