The Washington herald., 1910-12-18

The enhancement in value Of real estate
in Washington from the earliest days of
land transfers in the city form an inter
esting narrative. When that quaint old
character, Pope, owned all the land around
the present site of the Capitol. and
following the custom of choosing odd
names for land grants. called his holdings
Rome" and by a strange coincidence
gave the name Of "Capitoline HIP to the
spot where the Capitol of the nation now
stands, he had no thought that his land
would one day be the very heart of
great nation. Goose Creek, that then and
for some years after ran across what is
now Pennsylvania avenue and down past
where Center Market stands. he changed
its name TO the "Tiber." in order TO pre-
serve the harmony of his whimsical plan.
When Tom Moore. the Irish poet, Wis
tied Washington in 1904 he seized upon
this fact and wrote in his famous satire
of the early efforts of the people TO found
their Capital:
And what was Goose Creek once is
Tiber now"
The obstinate Burns" as President
Washington called the owner of a large
tract of what is now in the Business
section of this city, earned his epithet
because he did not yield readily TO the
sweet persuasion of the great first Presi-
dent. who tried TO get him to give up
more and more OF his holdings to the
Federal plan under what present holders
Of Washington property called the specious
plea of benefits to accrue in prospect
from other holdings"
First Big Realty Deal.
Walker, who gave the site Of the
White House, was another who held
title to large tracts of what is now city
property, and could never have foreseen
4he possibilities of the present day en-
hancement
The first real estate transaction that
in any way conforms TO the modern
ideas in plan and magnitude was that
Of the famous Greenleaf, after whom
Greenlears Point is named. He bought
up thousands Of city lots in Washington
and startled every one with the size and
audacity Of his ventures. His appearance
among the staid people OF those days
and the methods that he pracuced
seemed 10 the early citizens as might the
appearance of a new plunging satellite
with whirlwind methods in Wall street
at the present time. Had it not been
for the unfortunate failure Of the finan-
cial firm of which the famous Robert
Morris was the head, and the consequent
throwing into chancery of the greater
part of the holdings, that venture would
have stood at the top of the successful
land speculation events in the history
OF the country.
Physical Difficulties of Early Day.
Few cities in this country have been
built in the face of worse physical OBJ
stacles than have attended the work of
Improvement in Washington, and no city
has overcome its difficulties nearly so
well. Even in the days when Daniel
Webster went 10 and fro on the Avenue. /
the wheels. OF his carriage We're often
hub-deep in mud. Men of middle-age
can give personal examples Of the
rapid, steady, and remarkable growth
of the city in civic improvements. sani-
tary arrangements, and typographical
plan and extent
Hand in hand with this has gone the
steady appreciation in value OF the real
estate of the city. The records of trans-
fers of almost any piece OF property in
any section OF the city furnish examples
OF the steady growth in value and with
out any Of the fluctuations that mark the
real estate transactions of cities which
depend upon the commercial growth
wholly and are subject to the influences
OF trade depression.
Remarkable Proof.
That feature, so important TO the in
weston Is as marked to-day as ever in
almost any part of Washington. II was
wen Illustrated by the case Of a sale by
auction the other day in the aortheast
One group OF fifty-two houses, built in
the square bounded by X. L. Ninth, and
Tenth streets. was sold individually by
the Office Of Thomas j. Fisher & Co. at
the price OF $3.50 each. One of these
was sold at auction in the snow of last
week and brought in open competition
the price Of $500, or within only 500 of
the original selling price. That 1t was
only a small TRANSACTION compared with
many that have gone through in the past
week makes the Illustration Of the Sc
clTity of investment OF any sum large or
small in Washington realty.
The instance also. goes to prove that
the stability of values is not by any
HicdiiS restricted 10 the COnsCSieu DUST
ness sections of the city. Connecticut
avenue. Sixteenth street extended, Mas
sachusetts avenue extended, thazold Bel
aire district. all AFFORD striking examples
of what few dollars in real estate in
the city can be made to do.
High Values Downtown.
The business section teens with in
stances of almost fabulous increase in !
values. This is noted in the wall !
street section of the city. where values !
are high and growing higher. On Thin
teenth street is a piece of property that 1
was sold six or seven years ago for SIG. 900, |
and for which cash offer Of $4,000 was
refused only a few days ago. These are
no isolated cases. but are typical of the
increase to be seen everywhere
One investor who has made money in |
real estate was asked how he did it /
There was no second sight or deep study /
connected with my success at all Il
bought the property, got the deed, put |
Mt safely away, and then sat down and /
waited for the world 20 grow" Such Is /
the daily experience OF hundreds Of peo- I
Die in Washington, who. when they buy !