WSIC – Page 17 – Truxton Is In Shaw

WSIC- Square 615 lots – A Visual pt2

Feeling a bit under the weather so the posts are going to slow down a bit.

In an earlier post, WSIC- 1930s Ownership of Sq. 615, I wrote: “… the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company owned the following lots on Sq. 615 (bounded by North Cap, Q St, 1st St and P St NW): 65-66, 134-140, 170-179, 195-207, and 236-265.”

In a previous post I specifically looked at 31 and 33 Bates Street, part of 31- 43 Bates St NW, lots 134-140, now lots 285-291.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company owned the whole of the odd side of Bates Street, NW. And visually, for a bit, they had the 2nd story bay window, then no bay, then bay pattern, starting at 15 Bates to 37 Bates St NW. But 37 and neighboring 35 Bates St. NW are bay-less.

photo of property

It begins to look like the bay-no-bay pattern will restart with 39-45 Bates St, but then there are a row of the distinctive Truxton Circle 2nd floor bay windows.

photo of property

From 55-65 Bates St NW, it goes back to the bay, no bay, bay pattern. Addresses 65-67 Bates NW are bayless together, and then the pattern restarts.

photo of property

The even side of the unit block of Bates is just as inconsistent. Just a little less so. It starts off with bay, no bay, then bay and keeps it up until 52-54 Bates Street with neighboring bay-less windows.

photo of property

54-58 Bates St NW form a no bay, bay, no bay sandwich before it is nothing but bay windows till 1st St NW.

I’m sure there was a method to the madness.

WSIC- Square 615 lots – A Visual pt1

In a previous post, WSIC- 1930s Ownership of Sq. 615, I wrote: “… the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company owned the following lots on Sq. 615 (bounded by North Cap, Q St, 1st St and P St NW): 65-66, 134-140, 170-179, 195-207, and 236-265.”

I’m going to skip Square 615’s lots 65-66. which are 22 and 24 Q St NW. They do not look different from the other adjoining town homes.

So let’s first look at lots 134-140. And here is where we find our first problem. The lot numbers changed. Lot 140 would be 31 Bates Street NW. That address is now lot 285. I find a lot number changes. Sometimes the property undergoes some sort of conversion or there is another reason for the lot number change. It doesn’t happen too often but it does happen.

photo of property — 31 Bates Street NW, 2004

Next is lot 139, which like 140, no longer exists in the tax rolls. It was 33 Bates Street NW, which is now lot 286.

So what are we seeing here in these two images of Bates Street NW houses. The image for 31 Bates St NW shows the distinctive 2nd floor centered bay and the two entrances, reflecting the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company’s (WSIC) idea of having a two flat unit. The second door, is a window in the image for lot 285.

The pattern for the row is bay, no bay, bay, no bay.

WSIC- Square 617- A visual

In my last post about the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) and Square 617 (bounded by 1st, N, North Cap, and O Streets NW) I said the architecture looked annoying. Take a look at the entryway below.

Note the stairs in the photo (0617 0225). The original iron stairs were replaced by brick and there doesn’t seem to be a clear line in the brick.

This works when the owner owns both buildings. This can cause all sorts of headaches when there are two different owners, with different attitudes about maintenance and repairs.

Please forgive me, I am not an architect and have very little interest in focusing on the architecture of Truxton Circle, because that just leads to the Great Satan that is historic districting. But WSIC buildings in the TC have distinctive bays. In the case of the O Street buildings, I think what I am seeing is a bay with adjacent entryways.

For 14 O St NW, this is fine.

It doesn’t have an entryway close to another unit’s entry. In the photo above, taken in 2004, it appears 14 O St NW was two units. Even the second unit is not too close to the neighboring house’s entry.

WSIC-Square 617

In the last Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) post I searched the DC Recorder of Deeds for any other properties in Truxton Circle they may have owned besides the ones on Squares 552 and 615. I discovered Sq. 617.

On Square 617, they owned lots 169 to 183.

617-LC-1909

So that would be 14-42 O St NW.

This is 14 O St NW. Note the difference in lot number. It was lot 183 100 years ago.

This is 42 O St NW.

I’m noticing a particular building style here, but it looks irritating.

WSIC-What Else In the TC They Owned

Just to cover my bases I’m going to check the Recorder of Deeds and see what else the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) owned around here.

This image is deceptive.

There were more than 7 properties.

Let’s look at the earliest document, document #192402020030 a release, which means a debt was paid. It is dated February 2, 1924 and John B. Larner, surviving trustee, is the grantor, the one who held the debt. WSIC, along with the Washington Loan and Trust Company, George H. Harris, George M. Kober and George M. Sternberg, were the grantees, the ones who paid the debt. The document were for a whole list of properties on Square 509, which is juuuuust outside of Truxton Circle. They were for lots 170-181.

The next document was #1931017623 a 1931 deed. It is for one property, Square 552 lot 25 in Truxton Circle. Today it would be several properties with some facing the 100 blocks of Q and Bates Streets NW. But Sq. 552 has been covered and will get covered going forward, so I’ll move on.

552-LC-1903

Next are two 1947 deeds, document #1947005806 for Sq. 5867 and lots 3 and 868, and doc #1947005805 for about 37 lots on that same square. No clue where that is, besides east of the river in Southeast. Poking around it appears that square no longer exists.

In 1950 it appears WSIC sold properties in documents 1950024326 and 1950024327. These were lots on Squares 245, 4048, 4052, 509, E0546, 552, 615, 617, 651, 654, and 674. There were three TC squares in there and they were 552, 615, and 617.

Okay next time, we will look at Square 617 in addition to 552 and 615.

WSIC- 1930s Ownership of Sq. 615

In 1903 parties (George Sternberg and George Kober) involved with the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company owned the following lots on Sq. 615 (bounded by North Cap, Q St, 1st St and P St NW): 65-66, 134-140, 170-179, 195-207, and 236-265.

Fast forward to the 1933-1934 General Assessment, and it looks like the Washington Loan and Trust Company was holding or acting as a trustee for the WSIC.

There was a document that the WSIC owned the following lots in 1950. Lots 0134, 0135, 0136, 0137, 0138, 0139, 0140, 0170, 0171, 0172, 0173, 0174, 0175, 0176, 0177, 0178, 0179, 0195, 0196, 0197, 0198, 0199, 0200, 0201, 0202, 0203, 0204, 0205, 0206, 0207, 0236, 0237, 0238, 0239, 0240, 0241, 0242, 0243, 0244, 0245, 0246, 0247, 0248, 0249, 0250, 0251, 0252, 0253, 0254, 0255, and 0256. So basically the same lots, minus lots 65-66.

Next, I need to do a wide search to see if WSIC owned anything else in Truxton Circle, besides Squares 552 and 615. I don’t think so, but I need to check.

WSIC- 1903 Ownership of Sq. 615

February will have a fire hose of Carter G. Woodson’s Mis-Education of the Negro posts, so I’m sneaking in one Washington Sanitary Improvement Company post today and maybe another near the end of the month.

There are so many lots owned by trustees of WSIC. So who was a trustee? Let’s look at George M. Kober’s book The history and development of the housing movement in the city of Washington, D.C. From page 26 the elected directors were: David J. Brewer, Charles C. Cole, John W. Foster, Charles J. Bell, George Truesdell, Gardiner G. Hubbard, Anthony Pollok, Walter Wyman, Henry F. Blount, Mrs. George Westinghouse, Crosby S. Noyes, George H. Harries, William J. Boardman, William C. Woodward, Augustus S. Worthington, Henry Y. Satterlee, George L. Andrews, Bernard T. Janney, Mrs. Clara G. Addison, William C. Whittemore, G. Lloyd Magruder, Joseph C. Breckinridge, Marcus Baker, Katherine Hosmer, Charles E. Foster, Simon Wolf, George M. Sternberg, S. Walter Woodward, George M. Kober, and John Joy Edson. The executive board was George M. Sternberg, as president; S. Walter Woodward, John Joy Edson, Charles J. Bell, George Truesdell, George H. Harries, George L. Andrews, Ms. Katherine P. Hosmer; and Dr. Kober as secretary. Now let’s look at who owned property on Sq. 615, which was the first Truxton Circle block the company developed.

According to the General Assessment, just two of the above . Here we go:

Sternberg- 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265.

Kober- 65 and 66

Looking at the Library of Congress page for the 1903 DC Baist map, Plate 39, Kober’s lots 65 and 66 are 24-26 Q St NW. Sternberg (for WSIC) had odd side 31-43 Bates St NW (lots 134-140), even side 46-60 Bates St NW (lots 170-179), even side 53-77 Bates St NW (lots 195-207), and 94 Bates St NW, odd side 15-29 Bates St NW, and even side 30-44 Bates St NW, odd side 45-51 Bates St NW, 12 Q St NW, and even side 62-76 Bates St NW (lots 236-265).

Check back towards the end of the month to look at WSIC’s Sq. 615 ownership in the 1920s and 1930s.

WSIC- 1900 Resident Owners of Sq. 552-George Adams-120 Q St NW

There weren’t too many resident owners on Sq. 551 (bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P Sts NW). As I mentioned in the post about Sophia Hess, there were only two. Sophia Hess, at 145 P St NW, a 65 year old single woman of German heritage. She owned 0552 lot 7.
George Adams, at 120 Q St NW, was a 40 year old African American laborer. He owned 0552 lot 26-west 20. Sophia’s post went a little long, so I am giving George Adams his own post.

I have confirmed his home ownership in the 1902/1903 General Assessment.

So who was George Adams? That’s a good question because I could not find enough solid information. In the 1900 DC city directory there were about 11 George Adams. One George W. Adams at 120 Q St NW. The 1900 census tells me he was born in Maryland in February of 1860.

There was another George W. Adams in DC around the same time, who owned a lot of land. I don’t think he is the same guy. The other George Adams was married to Bettie Elizabeth Adams, our George Adams was unmarried.

His mother, Alice Adams, lived with him and she is the woman who connects George to Lycurgus Adams another property owner on the block. In the 1860 census relationships were not mentioned, so there are 15 people in the Adams’ household in Bladensburg, MD, Alice and Lycurgus among them. Lycurgus could have been George’s uncle, but it is unclear.

WSIC- 1900 Resident Owners of Sq. 552-Sophia Hess

In earlier posts I was looking at the block the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company did not own, that it would later own. I wanted to look at the owners of Sq. 552 prior to WSIC ownership to see what the story was there.

There weren’t too many resident owners on Sq. 552 (bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P Sts NW). I thought I had more, but that was an error on my end.

The 1902/1903 General Assessment, is not always correct (dead owners), nor does it provide the minute (my NOOT) info that is as enlightening as the Recorder of Deeds records. There were two (according to the 1900 census):

145 P St NW– Sophia Hess, a 65 year old single woman of German heritage. Owned 0552 lot 7.
120 Q St NW– George Adams, a 40 year old African American laborer. Owned 0552 lot 26-west 20.

So who was Sophia Hess? She was born in Washington, DC in December 1835 and her mother was Mary Elizabeth Gebhardt Hess (d. 1869) whose name the property was in. Looking at Mary Hess’ will, she left the property to her children Sophia, William and Catharine. sigh. That’s probably why it was still in Mary’s name. Sophia never married.

In 1880 she lived at 145 P St NW with her adult siblings. William Hess was her older brother and listed as being a boarder. He was a German born 62 year old and noted as being a maimed and illiterate laborer. Frederick was listed as her brother. He was a 45 year old carpenter. Lastly, her sister Catharine was a 39 year old housekeeper. Sophia was a 48 year old clerk for the Government Printing Office. All were single.

In the 1900 census, Sophia was still working at the GPO, still at 145 P St NW, and living with siblings. William was not in the picture, but Frederick the carpenter, then 60 years old, and sister Catherine remained with her.

Sometime between 1903 and 1909 the property became part of the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company’s portfolio. In 1906 according to the city directory she was at 145 P St NW. By the 1910 census, she had moved to 1611 Lincoln Ave NE. She lived there with her sister Catherine and a grand-nephew Karl H. Townsend. At the age of 70 she was still working at the GPO, as a folder. Her grand nephew was 19 years old and worked as a clerk for the Department of Agriculture.

She was still in Eckington during the 1920 census at 1611 Lincoln Ave NE. There she lived with a nephew, a niece and two grand-nieces. And at the age of 83, she still worked at the Government Printing Office.

In 1925 she died at 1611 North Capitol St NE (could be Lincoln Ave NE?) from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 91. She is buried at Glenwood Cemetery. She never married.

I’ll get George Adams in another post.

A Program for Bates Street 1968- Updated

This is the 3rd version of this post because I realized that the images did not transfer when I moved this from a Blogger environment to WordPress. So the links did not work. This post aims to fix that.

Although this does not mention the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, it is about the houses the WSIC built, plus another block. Below is a 2008 post where I misremembered the name of the 1968 report, which I have below the fold. The report, A Program for Bates Street, is just 12 pages with a few pictures of residents, has mentions of rehabilitation and new construction. Fast forward, this was under Marion Barry’s tenure so it got halfway done.

I have the 1968-1974 (the dates I’m unsure of) brochure of “A Plan for Bates Street” in PDF form. It’s a big file and because it is so large, I’m not posting here. However, I will mail it to folks who ask (offer expires in 30 days). Basically, like the title says, it was the government’s plan for the two blocks of Bates, to improve the housing.

Continue reading A Program for Bates Street 1968- Updated