The Washington times., 1935-09-21
Realty
FLASHES
BY LOU PEDI.AR, Jr.
Real Estate Editor


the Belle Haven Apartments in
Alexandria, Va. This is the
remodeled building, you may re-
member, which once housed the
Express Spark Plug factory :.
guarded by the famous dummy
watchman. More Of him later.
To get back to the history of
this building. It was originally
built as a cotton factory in the
early 1800S. During the Civil
War it was successfully a prison
and a hospital. Later it was
taken over by the Portner Brew
ing Company for bottling
plant. It's had quite a career, in
fact.
The legend Of the dusty
dummy who has stood his soli-
tary vigil for so many years is
equally interesting. Our author
ity Is Daniel Loughran, whose
family has had the building in
its estate for many years. The
dummy popped up on the scene
on April 26. 1907, as part Of the
Jamestown Fair. At its conclu-
sion he was a forgotten figure E. {.
until someone conceived the
idea Of placing him in the win.
dow Of the factory as a sort OF
low-cost burglary protection.
Here he sat in uninterrupted
dignity until about IS years
ago when nervous police
man, mistaking him for a real
sleeping watchman, dashed in
to tell him that the place was
on fire. In trying to awaken
him, he knocked Of one Of his
hands a defect which has
never been remedied. We for
got to ask how the cop felt.
His % years of faithful serv'
ice are now ended. Soon he
will be blandly gazing at passers-
by from the window Of a Peo-
piles Drug Store. Not so much
fun, perhaps, but a lesser hazard
to traffic, as far as the Alex
andria police department is
concerned. From there he will
probably 60 back to the oblivion
he narrowly escaped so many
years ago.
The apartments, in case
you're wondering, are already
more than half rented. The
Graham & Ogden Real Estate
Company handle them.
Otto King, Il. E. Breuninger
and Sons) has just returned
from a visit to his old home
town. Chapel Hill, N. c.. the
site, incidentally, Of the Univer'
Sity of N. c.
Confirming our statement of
last week anent the expected
addition to Frank Ruppert's
Shannon and Luchs b. p.l.
dept.) family, we are happy to
report that it was a boy. . born
last Sunday. and mother and
child both doing well.
The Sullivan Brothers are be-
wailing the fact that they
haven't half a dozen more
homes similar to the three
which they have just sold in La
Sale Park. Work has already
begun on four more. which
should be completed in a couple
Of months.
Among Washington fight fans
who are traipsin' to Gotham for
the Baer.Lewis fracas are Nor
ton J. LuchS and Tom Lake,
sales manager Of L. E. Breun-
inger and Sons. Tom, while
there, is going to take another
jaunt down Tobacco Road"
Although they won't be fin
1shed until the first Of the year,
the apartments which Breun-
1nger Is erecting at Colorado
Avenue and Kennedy Street are
filling up rapidly. That is. the
spaces in the plans are being
filled in rapidly. What we
mean to say is that a lot of
people are renting the apart
ments from the plans for jan
uary / occupancy. What DO
we mean, anyway?
What a sweet site for an
apartment the old Henderson
Castle would make! It would
be a somewhat ironic situation,
wouldn't it, if an apartment
should rise from the present
stone pile affording a delight
full view of Meridian Hill Park
a park which Mrs. Hender.
son donated in order to bar
the area forever to apartment
buildings.