Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Old Southwest

Your recent color photo Of
Southwest rubble. with new
bricks torn down in the fore
ground and the tower of Capt.
Randalls house standing in
the background. was a choice
bit Of irony: You captioned
it as showing destruction of
an economically depressed"
area. This is the same area
The Star publicized as a new
Georgetown" in 1923 be-
cause of the extensive remod-
cling in process.
Residents of the area were
economically depressed" af-
ter urban renewal, but not
before it took place. Homes
shown standing were in
Square 325 which had Is of
its Is homes remodeled at
a cost Of more than 100000
by owners estimates. Owners
also figured they had added
nearly half again that
amount in value by their own
work on landscaping and do
it-yourself parts of their
home Improvement project.
They lost most of this added
value.
These homes were part of
a 4-block taking area where
appraisals were so unsatis-
factory that RIA had to take
40 to condemnation. And
those who negotiated prices
only settled because they felt
they couldn't win if they
fought the Government.
Residents were chiefly Gov
eminent employees with many
in GS ola ($6.000-$l3,0 0O
grades, retired Government
employees with apartment
rental income. and a half
dozen in the $40, OOO-up
bracket. Houses here were
selling before remodeling at
about the same prices RIA
employed appraisers seemed
to think was fair market
value after remodeling.
You previously showed an
other picture in this 4-block
area, calling it a Stun" at
Eleventh and c. Here was
the Depew mansion bought
by Ria at $35 900 and often
pictured in The Star as a
fine example Of Victorian
architecture. Here also lived
the Harveys. famed for sea
food down through the gen.
erations. Photo showed the
big Church home standing,
and two lawyers homes.
And incidentally, The Star
once called 9Th and G the
heart of Southwest slums, ="
Here was the fine Russo home
and other solid houses
amongst the many excellent
ones in the st. Dominic's
neighborhood. One of these
was featured in House Beau
tiful or House and Garden
in about 1858 as outstanding
remodeling done by a woman
architect. 1t sold for the mis-
cradle sum of $14,500 to RIA.
May I suggest that your
newer people who seem to
know little about Southwest
look back through The Star
issues that carried the Won
derful series on Southwest
history. Or inquire of Star
people who lived in South
west. Or look up prices paid
for homes by RIA; if you
multiply these figures by two,
you will be able to determine
what houses would have cost
in Foggy Bottom or on Capitol
Hill or in Georgetown.
May I also advise that all
Washington newspapers drop
the "slum" campaign in
Southwest and let what for
mer residents considered the
finest place in the city devel-
OPP to its full potential with
out an ugly stigma of squalor
hanging forever over it. spoil
ing new residents pleasure
in living there after it is re-
built. The battle is won: The
real slums of about IL square
blocks are gone and along
with it hundreds of acres of
good property solidly built.
BY passing it all off as slums,
the Government got a good
bargain on land it wanted.
Now that I've said what is
wrong, let me say what is
right: The Star showed the
most objective and sympa-
thetic approach to residents
and owners problems and
the most accurate reporting
of any of the newspapers in
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