Category: History

1957 Church Survey: Metropolitan Baptist Church

In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area around Union Station. One of the churches was Metropolitan Baptist Church at 1225 R St NW, and currently sits in Largo, MD. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

photo of property

In 1957 Metropolitan Baptist was a large Black church with over 3,000 members. It was large enough and wealthy enough to support 2 full time and 2 part-time ministers, 3 church secretaries, and 4 janitors. The average reported attendance was 1,500 people a Sunday. If 500 more people showed up, it would then be a mega church.

A church with that many congregants and regular worshipers needed and had a parking lot. Their parking lot had room for 50 cars. About 40% of members lived in the urban renewal area. A majority, 57%, lived in other parts of the District. I see a notation that they used nearby commercial lots on Sundays. So they may have been more of a commuter church.

CS 4 Metropolitian Baptist … by Mm Inshaw

 

According to their survey, they appear to have been a very active church. There were scouts, a credit union, a YMCA basketball league along with the common religious education components.

Eventually Metropolitan would sell their church building in 2006 to Unity of Washington. While they waited for their Largo building to get built, a reduced congregation met at the Armstrong School building in Truxton Circle. There were some financial problems and that’s when the school’s grassy field was paved over. And now they are in Maryland. The End.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 136 Q 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.

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 was the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

photo of property

Let’s see what happens with 136 Q St NW:

  •  January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 136 Q St NW to Emma and William Allen.
  • January 1951 the Allens 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 136 Q St NW to Mamie and Roland F. Hawkins.
  • Jan 1951 Mitchell borrowed $3,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • July 1951 the Hawkins sold their property to Otha N. and Rosa M. Currie. Unfortunately……
  • February 1955, their half was foreclosed upon by Levin and Weightman and returned, via an auction, to Evans, Levin and Taube. But before that…..
  • July 1954, the Allens lost their home to foreclosure and via an auction, return to Evans, Levin and Taube.
  • March 1959 Evans and Taube (and their wives) and the survivors of Nathan Levin, as part of a larger property package, sold 136 Q St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • Sometime between 1968 and 1978 Basiliko sold 136 Q St to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.

Now we go down the checklist of the things that happen with properties like this. Foreclosure, checked twice. Transfer to George Basiliko, check. Eventual ownership by the DC RLA, check.

1957 Church Survey: Greater New Bethel Baptist

In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area around Union Station. One of the churches was New Bethel Baptist Church at 1739 9th St NW. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

I need to note that New Bethel was civil rights leader Rev. Walter Fauntroy’s church. But I gather since Rev. Fauntroy went off the rails in his twilight years, his name is no where on the church’s website. Whereas other Black churches featured in this series might have some mention about their history, there is none of that on the dynamic website.

photo of property

From the website it appears the church is a vibrant Black middle class church. And from the 1957 survey it appears that with an 80% white collar population, it was a vibrant Black middle class church.

CS-3-Greater New Bethel Bap… by Mm Inshaw

At the time of the survey, the church reported that none of their 700 members lived in the urban renewal area (which shrank down to the Shaw borders). They lived in other parts of the District.

I wonder if parking was a problem then?

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1509 3rd 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.

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 was the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

photo of property

Let’s see the ownership history of 1509 3rd St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1509 3rd St NW to widow Mary A. Jackson.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mrs. Jackson borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1509 3rd St NW to Woodrow W. Jackson. I do not know if he and Mary were related.
  • Jan 1951 Mr. Jackson borrowed $3,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • February 1960 Mr. Jackson lost his half to foreclosure. The property returned to Evans, Taube, and new partner Harry A. Badt via an auction.
  • February 1960, as part of a larger property package, Harry Badt & his wife transfer a portion of their interest in this and other properties to Levin’s survivors.
  • November 1961, (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell their interest in 1531 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • December 1962, Mary Jackson borrowed $950.00 from trustees Charles W. Morgan and Ralph O. Weed.
  • December 1963, Mary Jackson borrowed $2,650 from trustees A.J. Mascetta and Ralph O. Weed.
  • October 1967 Mrs. Jackson borrowed $1,183.68 from Mascetta & Weed for work done by Continental Contracting Co., Inc.
  • November 1967 she was released from her debt with Levin and Weightman.
  • September 1978, George Basiliko, as George Basiliko, Inc, sold his half of 1509 3rd St NW to Lewis L. Washington.
  • March 1983, Mrs. Jackson sold 1509A 3rd St NW to Fannie T. Johnson.
  • November 1984, Fannie T. and her husband Sylvester Johnson sold their half of the property to Lewis L. Washington bringing the property under one owner again.

So let’s see if we check the boxes. Halves sold, check. Foreclosure, check. Sold to Basiliko, check. Sold to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency, nope.

Bad Photocopy- 3rd and Q St NW- Circa 1960something

Corner of 3rd and Q St NW, circa 1960-something

For another post at another time I was scouring my hard drive, my Flickr account, and various other spots because I swore I had a picture of the corner of 3rd and Q before the, um….. Interesting architecture appeared on the corner.

I took this image in 2017.

The developer added a mansard roof/ 3rd floor.

It looks different.

Anyway, I found a bunch of photocopies of photographs from what I think may be the late 1960s maybe the early 1970s of the corner of 3rd and Q Streets NW.

Corner of 3rd and Q St NW in Washington, DC

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1505 3rd 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.

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 was the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

photo of property

Let’s see the ownership history of 1505 3rd St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1505 3rd St NW to Patricia E. & Sterling G. Brown.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Madden borrowed $3,375 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1505 3rd St NW to James Mitchell.
  • Jan 1951 Mitchell borrowed $3,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • November 1957 Mitchell lost his half through foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Taube, and new partner Harry A. Badt via an auction.
  • March 1958 the Browns also lost their half through foreclosure and the property returned to Evans, Taube, and Harry A. Badt via an auction.
  • November 1957 and March 1958, as part of a larger property package, Harry Badt & his wife transfer a portion of their interest in this and other properties to Levin’s survivors.
  • November 1961 (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell 1505 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • Sometime before 1980, the property fell into the hands of the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.

All boxes checked. Foreclosure, checked twice. Transfer to George Basiliko, check. Eventual ownership by the DC RLA, check.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1535 3rd 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.

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).

photo of property

Let’s see if 1535 3rd St NW fit this pattern:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold 1533 3rd St NW to Bernice T & Elsworth R. Turner.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) the Turner’s borrowed $6,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • August 1958 the Turners lost their home to foreclosure.
  • August 1958, as part of a larger package, new partner Harry Badt & his wife transfer a portion of their interest in the property to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
  • November 1961 (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell their interest in 1535 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • July 1970, as part of a larger package, George Basilko sold 1535 3rd St NW to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.

So all the boxes were checked. Foreclosure, check. Sold to George Basiliko, check. Sold to DC RLA, check.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1533 3rd 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.

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 was the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

photo of property

Let’s see the ownership history of 1533 3rd St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold 1533 3rd St NW to Nettie B. Madden, a widow.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Madden borrowed $6,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • September 1961 Madden borrowed $1,250 from trustees Leonard C. Collins and Thomas B. Lawrence.
  • December 1965 Madden was released from her debt to Levin and Weightman.
  • In October 1968, Madden’s survivors, Catherine M. Gainey, her husband Jerome Gainey, Dorothy M. Campbell and her husband William B. Campbell, sold 1533 3rd St NW to George Basiliko.
  • July 1970 Basiliko sold 1533 to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.
  • July 1974 The DC Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings condemned the property.

At first it looked like Mrs. Madden would save 1533 3rd St NW from the fate of so many other former WSIC homes. But alas, no. Her daughters Catherine and Dorothy sold it to landlord George Basiliko, who within a few years, sold it to RLA.

WSIC-1950 Sell Off- 1531 3rd 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.

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).

photo of property

Let’s see what happened at 1531 3rd St NW:

  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1531 3rd St NW to William A. and Frances Ethel Guss.
  • December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) the Guss’ borrowed $3,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • January 1951 (recorded 2/14/1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1531 3rd St NW to Camille G. and William T. Stovall.
  • Jan 1951 the Stovalls borrow $3,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
  • Sadly in November 1955 the Stovalls lose their half to foreclosure. There was an auction and Evans, Levin and Taube got it back.
  • November 1961 (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell their interest in 1531 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
  • December 1961 the Guss loan was released and they owned their half free and clear.
  • January 1972 the DC Redevelopment Land Agency purchased/ obtained all of 1531 3rd St NW from George Basiliko, and the Guss survivors.

Frances Guss died April 6, 1955 and William A. Guss died September 2, 1969. Other signatories, besides the Basilikos, were Elaine F. Barber, her husband Cornell D. Barber, Melvin Guss,  Phyllis Robinson, and her husband Benjamin F. Robinson.

Black Truxton Circle Notables

So Ward 5 Councilman Zachary Parker introduced legislation designating streets in honor of prominent Black figures with ties to Ward 5. The key word is “ties”.

For the Truxton Circle neighborhood, his office picked Rayford Logan. Logan’s tie? He went to Dunbar. sigh. A whole bunch of people went Dunbar, way more famous and notable than Logan.

I get why they didn’t pick Dunbar graduates such as Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, or Councilman Vincent Gray or Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, because they aren’t dead yet.

Portrait of Charles Drew.jpg
Dr. Charles R. Drew, Dunbar alum

But why not Dunbar graduate Dr. Charles Drew? Is it because he has a number of schools and health centers named after him? Is it because he got a postage stamp? Is colorism at play and Dr. Drew is too light skinned?

Okay, then maybe Billy Taylor, jazz pianist. He went to Dunbar.

I see another Dunbar graduate Sterling Allen Brown was designated to Brookland, where he lived. Which seems to be more of a tie than Logan’s “tie” to Truxton Circle.

I believe Rayful Edmond went to Dunbar. He’s the drug kingpin mentioned in TC author, Tony Lewis Jr.’s book, Slugg: A Boy’s Life in the Age of Mass Incarceration. Edmond had a huge impact on the Hanover St section of Truxton Circle, but I wouldn’t rename any streets after him.

You know what is across the street from Dunbar? Armstrong. It was a technical school or high school. Duke Ellington went there. But I understand not wanting to name another thing after the great Duke Ellington. I love Duke Ellington, but you can have too much of a good thing. Another jazz great went to Armstrong, Billy Eckstine, but no body cares about Billy Eckstine.

I hadn’t even touched on the people who ACTUALLY LIVED IN TRUXTON CIRCLE!

Peter Murray PortraitWe have Dr. Peter Marshall Murray who was president of the National Medical Association and who lived at 1645 New Jersey Ave NW.

Next is female filmmaker, Eloyce Gist. Not only does she have a Wikipedia page, she has an IMDB page. She was married several times so she has a few different names, but she lived at 134 R St NW, which no longer exists.

Before this gets too long, I did decide to take a look at the other neighborhoods and the names Councilman Parker’s office ( don’t believe Mr. Parker came up with this list) came up with.

Edna Brown Coleman was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was one of the 22 founding members. Delta Sigma Theta planned and constructed the Delta Towers in Ward 5 in the 1970s, so therefore Coleman who died in 1919, gets a street. I mena her brother Sterling A. Brown gets Brookland, why not? Trinidad neighborhood, you have my sympathies. The link Logan has to the TC is kinda dumb, but not this level of dumb.

Moving on…

Ivy City gets Alexander Crummell. His tie? A school in the neighborhood was named after him.

The Carver-Langston area will get John Mercer Langston. Sure the whole neighborhood is kinda named after him. A street? Sure why not?