Evening star. [volume], June 12, 1948, Image 14

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
■I ' " . ' . -
REAL ESTATE AND RADIO • WASHINGTON, D. C„ 1 fof SATUBDAT' ‘“S'™"
_ -.as .i»
SURPLUS HOUSING FOR VETS—Mr. and Mrs. E. Lowell Hatfield of Washington with their
daughters, Janet and Helen Mae, sit on the steps of the wartime housing unit they drew in a
sale at Potomac Heights, Md., this wee*._
Veterans Demand for Low-Cost Housing bhown
In Potomac Heights Surplus Demountables Sale
By Malcolm Lambome, Jr.
If there were any doubts re
maining of the need for low-cost
homes for America’s growing
families of World War II veter
ans, those doubts were dispelled
this week at Potomac Heights,
Md., a few miles above the Naval
Powder Factory at Indian Head.
There at 8 p.m. Thursday, a
group of 146 eager veterans,
many of them with their wives
and children, gathered on the
lawn of the Perry Wright Homes
Project recreation center.
All day long, they had moved
through 32 deserted “demount
ables,” containing either two or
four bedrooms. They probed and
proded at plywood exteriors and
walls. They turned down old w-all
paper for closer inspections. They
even removed flooring.
Built as Experiment.
The houses, built in 1941 in
one of the Government's first
prefabricated housing experi
ments for war workers, had been
declared surplus. The two-bed
room units were listed at $500
and $600. depending on their con
dition: the duplex units, at $700
and $800.
In the last half hour before
the deadline for filing offers to
buy, applicants swamped the
tiny office of the local Public
Housing Administration.
Then, at 8 o’clock began the
first postwar sale of Government
demountables for off-site removal
In this section of the country. ,
They waited anxiously as
Frank Daniels of New York re
gional " sales officer of PHA,
called out the first number drawn
from a cardboard box. It waS
held by 28-year-old Joseph A.
Bailey of Clements, Md., Navy
veteran and father of three.
Groan Rise* From Crowd.
When Leo Schwartz, general
housing manager of the project,
announced Mr. Bailey's first
choice—known simply as "5-A”—
a groan went up from the crowd.
About 30 other families had listed
the house as their first choice,
too.
Why? Because this two bed
room demountable had fewer
broken windows, more paint than
most, was clean inside and better
equipped.
The drawing continued. Then
number 93 was called. A couple
gave a shout. They were Mr.
District Rental
Housing Picture
Applications for housing received
by the District Housing Center dur
ing the past week totaled 566, a
.slight increase from those the week
before. Dwelling units added to the
registry amounted- to 103, while 111
rooms were listed for -rent. Sixty
: six families were accommodated in
existing dwellings. ,’0. ,. ,v
Following is a breakdown of ap
plications:
New appll- Jleappli
cations. cations. Total.
Jmt arrived In
Washington *6 T M
Separated from
family _ — *9 *1 TO
Unreasonable dis
tance to com
mute _ 1 0 1
Evictions _ 51 18 69
Desire to move
from public
housing 10 1
Present housing
inadequate _. 209 158 86.
Totals . __ 367199566
and Mrs. John B. Crosby, 209
Maple road S.E. A four-bedroom
duplex was theirs. Hours before
the drawing they had gone over
.their first choice. Mr. Crosby, an
employe of the Navy's Hydro
graphic Office, needed four bed
rooms for his family of six, but
had given up hope of finding a
home he could afford in the
Washington area.
Mr. Crosby figured it would
cost him around $7,000 to remove
the duplex, to purchase one or
two lots and then remodel ex
tensively.
“And where can you get a
four-bedroom house today at
that figure?” he asked a reporter
prior to the drawing.
The Crosby's explained later,
after they had recovered from
their surprise! that their lucky
number had the same numerals
carried by a Navy transport on
which Mr. Crosby had served
through five invasions in the
Pacific.
Weather-Beaten Unit.
The next drawing produced
th« name of Hatfield. Mr. and
Mrs.E. Lowell Hatfield, 4594 Blue
Plains drive S.W., were there
with their two daughters, Helen
-Mae, Si and Janet, 3. Mr. Hat
field is a clerk in the Civil
Service Commission and served
in the Army.
The family then drove to.
their first choice, a weather
beaten, single-family unit, with
more than its share of broken
windows. While they posed for
the photographer, Mr. Hatfield
told of searching for a house.
“But they were either above
(See LAMBORNE, Page“B-2.)
mei nceunffaiSRMSmCIIMKI muuifiiinJinllnUnlinlinlinJ
Frank Daniels (left) of the Public Housing Administration, conducts the drawing. World
War II veteran Joseph A. Bailey (center) of Clements, Md., received the first house. Miss
Evelyn Alvey, secretary in the nearby PHA office, is on the right.
__—-——-1 1 " 1
Dry-Wells Can Save
Lawns and Roads;
Simple to Build
By Wadsworth Wood
In many instances a dry-well will
keen a lawn from being eroded or
a road from being washed out. As
a matter of fact, a dry-well will be
found of great help in any case
where too much water hits the sur
face of the ground at one time.
If the rain from the gutters and
leaders-' of your house is digging
holes close to the foundation, or if
sections of foundation or sec
tions of your road are flooded dur
ing heavy storms, a dry-well will
probably remedy the trouble. sU
The building of the well is quite
simple. You make a hole in the
ground near the bottom of the
leader, and sink a barrel which
has had both head and bottom
knocked out. The end of the lead
er is run into the barrel and then
it is filled with heavy stones or
broken rock.
A concrete slab or a few boards
; are placed over the top, and then
i ( See wdOD,~Page' B-2. >
First Aid for Houses—
By Roger C. Whitman
Question: I built a ranch-style
home last fall. It is sheathed with
insulating board and sided with fl
inch beveled siding. The inside is
plastered over the insulating board.
This house is heated with a space
heater. There are three rooms and
bath. The house has cement blocks
for foundation, and four feet clear
ance in the unfinished basement.
The wall is on natural stone, and
all earth taken out. My trouble is
condensation. ‘The floor joists are
wet for about 2 feet all around the
wall. What can I do to stop the con
densation?
Answer: Your space heater may
be partly to blame. If it is not
vented properly, it probably is dis
charging the vapors of combustion
into the air of the house. This
venting should be taken care of.
For another thing, although you say
the wall is on natural stone and
all earth taken but, I believe there
Is still enough earth left in the
cellar space to cause moisture.
This dampness from the ground
works up into the wall spaces,
causing dampness and condensa
; tion. If you cannot lay a good
1 waterproof concrete floor at this
time, it would help to insulate
the under side of the floor boards.
Black Spots on Window Frames.
Question: We built a home this
past year and couldn’t get storm
sash for all the windows. The
windows without storm sash have
frozen and thawed all winter, and
there are black spots and runs on
them. Will sanding them when they
are dry remove this discoloration?
We want to varnish them if we
can get out the stains.
Answer: Try sanding and also use
a handful of steel wool to take
out the black marks, moistening the
steel wool with turpentine. If the
stains have gone in too deeply to
be taken out in this way, bleach
them out with oxalic acid crystals
(poison) dissolved in denatured al
cohol as much of the crystals as
the alcohol can absorb. Or use hot
water instead of thi alcohol.
Let this stand all night on the
surfaces, then rinse off thoroughly
next morning with a wet cloth.
Finish with two coats of clear,
quick-drying varnish. As the acid
will bleach the wood, you may wish
to touch up the woodwork with an
oil stain of the color that you prefer.
This should be done before varnish
ing.
(Reinsert by The Consolidated
, News Features. Inc.)
This general view shows a portion of the surplus demounta
ble houses sold in the Perry Wright Homes Project. They were
built early in the defense program for war workers.
Star Staff Photos by A. C. Chinn.
Big Jump in Permits
Caused by $384,000
Housing Project
Building permit authorizations
for District construction took an
other Jump this week, bringing the
total for the week to $936,500, the
office of District Inspections Direc
tor Robert H. Davis disclosed to
day.
'Die .total compared with last
week’s $435,000. A major factor in
the increase was issuance of a per
mit for construction of a $384,006
housing project by the Cafritz Con
struction Co.
With LeRoy L. Werner as archi
tect, the company plans to build
48 two-story brick dwellings in the
700 blocks of Crittenden and Bu
chanan streets and the 4700 block
of Eighth street, all in the North
east section.
Store Planned.
Park & Shop, Inc., of 4473 Con
necticut avenue N.W., plans a $200,
000 two-story store in the same
block. Earl Von Reichenbach is
the architect.
Permits issued with a valuation
of $10,000 or more were:
Lansburg ft Bro., owner, Seventh and I
sts. N.W.; James L. Parsons, Jr., builder,
Homer Bldg.; DeYoung, Moskowltz ft Ro
senberg, architects; to make general In
terior alterations, Seventh and E streets
N.W.; to cost *50,000.. „ , , „
W. C. ft A. N. Miller Developing Co.,
owner and builder, 4830 Massachusetts
avenue N.W.; E. R. Spano, architect: to
erect one 2-story brick dwelling. 5001
Sedgwick street N.W.; to cost *25.000.
Allied Investment. Inc, owner. 1129
Vermont avenue N.W.: Aldon Construction
Co.. Inc., builder, 1120 Vermont avenue
N.W.: Leon Brown, architect, 1120 Vermont
avenue N.W.: to erect 4 two-story brick
and cinder-block dwellings. 4300-08 F
street S.E.; to cost *20,000.
Hilltop Terrace Houses.
Allied Investment, Inc., owner; Aldon
Construction Co., Inc., builder; Leon Brown,
arohiteot: to erect eight 2-story brick tod
cinder-block dwellings, 504-00-10 Hilltop
terrabe SB.: to cost *40,000.
Cafritz construction Co., owner and
Werner, architect.‘‘llod ‘k street 8NW.;
to cost *384.000. .
Park ft Shop, ne., owner, 4473 Con
necticut avenue N.W.; Tuckman-Barbee
Construction Co., Inc., builder, 1720 H
street N.W.; William N. Denton, Jr., arch
itect. 1719 I street N.W.: to erect one 2
story brick and reinforced concrete store.
4473-77 Connecticut avenue N.W.; to cost
*200,000. . . „,
Procopio ft McGuire, owners and build
ers, 1219 Good Hope road 8.E.; Earl Von
Reichenbach, architect, 1219 Good Hope
road 8.E.; to erect one 1-story brick and
cinder-block dwelling, 3810 Bangor street
S.E.; to cost *14,000.
W. D. Bpicknall. owner. 823 Hamilton
TSee PERMITS, Page B-2.)
Home Gadgets—
New Cabinet Lock
Permits Three-Way „
Use in the Home
By D. M. Derwin
The home owner who likes to
build or repair his own cabinets,
cupboards and chests of drawers
need no longer be plagued by the
problem of what kind of lock to
get for such furniture.'
The problem has been solved by
a manufacturer who has developed
a new lock for cabinets, cupboards
and drawers. This new three-way
cabinet lock has a patented rotat
ing cylinder which permits the
lock to be adapted to any one of
three different uses.
It can be used either as a drawer
lock with the bolt moving vertically,
or as a cabinet and cupboard lock
with the bolt moving horizontally
so that it is applicable for either
right-hand or left-hand doors. No
special equipment is needed to
turn the cylinder, which can be
rotated by releasing a small catch
on the cylinder housing. A small
screwdriver, pin or even fingernail
will do the trick.
This new three-way lock promises
to be an important economy item
since it serves the same purposes for
which three different ordinary locks
are required. It is a pin-tummer
lock with four pins and is mads
from solid brass. It is being pro
duced with both dead bolts and
springbolts.
Prepainted Siding.
PreDainted aluminum lap siding
is one of the latest innovations in
heme construction materials de
signed to help lower building costs.
This new siding already in use in
new construction and in home re
modeling is finished in a specially
developed low-gloss, synthetic,
baked enamel. Applied by the
manufacturer at the factory under
Ideal conditions and Infrared
baked, the protective coating has
been found to have durability many
times greater than that of even the
finest oil-type exterior house paints.
It is finished in three colors—white,
gray and cream.
The individual panels have pat
ented interlocking features which
the manufacturer states provide a
virtually weather-sealed surface
(See GADGETS, Page B-2.)
Wooded Acreage
HOMESITES
We have available a limited number
of homesites for the diseriminatina
buyer In lovely
BRADLEY HILLS
GROVE
A 35© *«rt restricted development
with no lot less than % acre—
Ideal for the rambler type of home.
For price and terms call
R. Bates Warren
To reach property drive west (left)
on Bradley Boulevard .IW jniles
from Wisconsin Ave. to Field. Office.
Open Saturday and Sunday.
Phone Oliver 3159.
MONEY TO LOAN
1st Deed of Trust Only
Minimum Interest Rates
G. CALVERT BOWIE
Suit* 404 8. Woshingto* Bldg.
15th ond N. Y. Are., BE. 7121
Correspondent—The Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York
We will buy de
ferred purchase
money second
trust notes se
cured on im
proved prop
erty.
COLUMBIA MORTGAGE
COMPANY
916 Woodward Bldf.
RE. 7330
TRUST I
NOTES
Reasonable Rates
Prompt Service
UJe 111ill buy Second Trust Notes
Secured on Improved Property
nationalMortgage
& investment corp.
1312 H.Y. AVE..N.W.-M5333.
WE HAVE.
DESIRABLE PROPERTIES
QUALIFIED PURCHASERS
John R. de Sibour & Co.
REALTORS
$
17 DUfONT CTKCLI MI. 6*00
LOANS
ON
REAL ESTATE
Various plans, including long-term
monthly payments, at favorable
rate.
FIRST DEED OF TRUST ONLY
RPNTALS—SALES-INSURANCE
GEORGE I. BORGER
* 643 Indiana Ava. N.W.
NA. 0350
J. NOBLE BOAZ
Realtor
Specializing In
Homea
Since
1926
7424 Wisconsin A*n. Betkesdo
Wisconsin 7500
Everything in Real Estate, some of ®
the best buys.
Listings Invited.
Mortgage Loans—Mortgage In- |
vestments. Property Management |
—economical methods. Just give us jj
on opportunity ta demonstrate. f
Moore Cr Hill Co.
Since 1900.
804 17th St. N.W.
wm a. imx^^rAiJLB^jNAit
FENCES
CONTINENTAL CHAIN LINK
WOOD —IRON
Easy terms arranged
Sold and Erected by
LANE & MaeBRYDE, Ine.
»h b Evart* St*. N.I.—HO. 6600
Real Estate
LOANS
TO BUILD
TO BUY
TO RE-FINANCE
In Washington, D. C. and
nearby Maryland or Vir
ginia. A discussion of
your requirements is cor
dially invited.
Consult Mortgogo Loan Dopt.
EQUITABLE LIFE
INSURANCE CO.
81614th St. N.W.-RE.6161
For Home
Improvement
Loons for Home Im
provements, without
mortgaging your
property, will be ar
ranged promptly to:
• Enlarge
• Repair
• Modernize
• Renovate
For details, call,
write or phone
District 2370
FIRST KDflML
suvincs flno loan
H5JO€lflTIOr>
Conveniently Located:
<11 13th St. N.W. (Bet. F * G)
(No Branch Offices)
INCREASED PROPERTY VALVES
CALL FOR ADDITIONAL
FIRE INSURANCE
If you haven't increased the fire pro
tection on your property, we suggest
you examine your insurance now.
Present rebuilding costs may exceed
your protection. Our insurance de
portment can serve oil your insurance
needs. Ask about a risk analysis. i
B. F. SAUL CO.
925 15th St. N.W. NA. 2100
first Mortgage*—Loans—frop*rfy Menagtmtnt
REALTOR
1113 17th ST. N.W.
RE public Ml
ttHTlal
Fstopivj
Property \1
Owners ll
put your ll
PROPERTY II
MANAGEMENTll
In Good Hands!
WEAVER
BROS., INC.
Financing New Homes
Let us help you do it! One loan is
all you need—a construction loan
which automatically converts to
long term monthly payments
when the building is finished.
H. G. Smithy Company
•11 IMh M. N.W.
Mortgage Representative—Traveler* Insurance Co.
PBOPEBTT MANAGEMENT-—BALES—LOANS—INSCBANCB
Real Estate
Sales—Rentals
Insurance
Mortgage Loans
Property Management
Randall H. Hagner A Company
. inco»»o»atco
realtor#
1321 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Telephone DEcatur 3600
___ _n
» ■#o\ t.tote Sole.
Rtf,dent.o» w
Commercial
• ,B$UTt!5*o» •
Every WP«
Insurance
> Loans
. . Ht M«««'
* U®«* .qu'ar
► fha or r 9
» Loons
* • *•*' t'2£»*
Residential0
* Commercial
> Financiers for
Home
Ownership
Waiter
Dunlop
itrc. r |
1200 15th St I
N.W. • I
District 0222 f