Tag: A.I.

Fun with A.I. – The Eloyce Gist Hell Bound Train Podcast

So once again I played around with A.I. and got something, not 100% right. It isn’t exactly wrong either. It’s a POV that isn’t mine and I’m not really on board with it.

I can imagine my research being taken over by some young producer type who ‘jazzes’ it up, and this is what you get.

I plugged in several Eloyce Gist blog posts here and my script for the ASALH conference and got this:

Fun with A.I. and the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company houses

So I asked an AI to look at the web pages for 14-42 O St NW and summarize them. AI is imperfect. It incorrectly believed the George Basiliko purchased homes in 1950. I can see where it got that idea in some of my posts. sigh.

From Grok:

The web pages from the blog “Truxton Is In Shaw” (blog.inshaw.com) detail the history of properties along O Street NW in Washington, D.C., focusing on the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) and its sell-off of rental properties in the 1950s. Each page examines a specific address (ranging from 14 O Street NW to 42 O Street NW) and traces the ownership timeline, primarily from the 1950s onward, using deed records and historical context. Here’s a summary of the key themes and information across these pages:
The WSIC, originally established to provide sanitary housing for working-class families in D.C., began selling off its properties in the early 1950s as part of a broader shift away from rental management. The houses discussed—located in the Truxton Circle area of the Shaw neighborhood—were typically sold to individual buyers or small investment entities between 1950 and 1952. Each post outlines the specific deed transactions, including dates, parties involved, and, where available, subsequent ownership changes into the late 20th or early 21st century.
For example:
  • 42 O Street NW (sold November 17, 1950) went to George Basiliko, a notable real estate figure, and later changed hands multiple times.
  • 40 O Street NW (sold October 31, 1950) was also acquired by Basiliko, with ownership details extending to 1981.
  • 38 O Street NW (sold October 31, 1950) followed a similar pattern, purchased by Basiliko and later sold to others.
  • Properties like 36 O Street NW (October 31, 1950) and 34 O Street NW (November 17, 1950) highlight sales to individuals or couples, with some remaining in families for decades.
  • Earlier addresses, such as 14 O Street NW (sold January 29, 1951), often note fewer subsequent transactions, suggesting longer-term ownership.
The posts collectively illustrate a post-World War II transition in D.C.’s housing market, where institutional landlords like WSIC divested properties to private owners, reflecting broader societal shifts toward homeownership. The author, Mari, uses these histories to explore Truxton Circle’s evolution, occasionally noting challenges in tracing ownership due to incomplete records or unclear deed references. The series underscores her focus on hyper-local history, tying individual homes to the neighborhood’s changing identity.

AI, Eloyce Gist and Truxton Circle

So I decided to fool around with AI before it takes my job and brings those Boston Dynamic killer dog robots to kill me.

I was playing with NotebookLM and decided to throw some Eloyce Gist stuff at it. The fake podcast it produced…. is interesting.

After asking several Eloyce Gist questions, I asked it about Truxton Circle. This is what I got:

While the sources provide information about a filmmaker who lived and worked in Truxton Circle, they do not offer a clear definition of “Truxton Circle.” The sources do include some clues about the nature of Truxton Circle, which may help to clarify:
● A historically Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C.: Several sources refer to Truxton Circle as a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. that was historically Black. For example, one source describes Truxton Circle as a “historically Black Truxton Circle neighborhood in Washington, DC.”

Another mentions a series on “Black home owners of Truxton Circle.”

● Home to a beauty school in the 1920s: The sources provide details about the life and work of Eloyce Gist, a Black filmmaker who owned and operated a beauty school in Truxton Circle in the 1920s. Gist purchased the property for her business, the Patrick School of Beauty Culture and Personal Improvements, in 1922.

The sources note that, at the time, Truxton Circle was “just becoming a majority Black neighborhood.”

● Located within the pre-Home Rule boundaries of Shaw: Several sources provide a map of the “Boundaries pre-Home Rule” for Shaw, a neighborhood in Washington, D.C..
These maps list the neighborhood’s boundaries as:
○ Western: 15th Street NW
○ Eastern: North Capitol Street NW
○ Northern: Florida Ave NW
○ Southern: New York Ave NW, between North Cap and New Jersey, M Street NW between 3rd and 13th Streets NW, and N Street between 13th and 15th Streets NW.
Based on these clues, it seems likely that Truxton Circle is:
● A neighborhood, or a smaller section within a neighborhood, located in Washington, D.C..
● Situated within the historical boundaries of the Shaw neighborhood.
● A historically Black community, at least as of the early 20th century.
However, without further information from the sources, it is impossible to say for certain what Truxton Circle is or to offer more specific details about its location, history, or character.