Housing Reform and the Syphax School

Housing Reform and the Syphax School. River Farms to Urban Towers. , In the 1890s, American cities had a common problem. The working poor lived in deteriorating housing, often no better than wooden shacks. In Washington much of this housing lined the city's hidden alleys. But people needed healthier and safer places to live. Who should provide better housing? The government?, In 1897 two Washington public health officials, George Sternberg and George Kober, decided that private investors should build solid, affordable housing, even though there would be little profit. Between 1897 and 1939, Sternberg and Kober persuaded charitable Washington investors to clear slums and build 1,034 units (houses and apartments) around the city. The new housing was very popular., By 1939, however, the investors were disappointed by poor profits. Their building stopped. But in 1934 the federal government had created the Alley Dwelling Authority to address the housing problem, so the work continued. The low-rise buildings just ahead were built by Sternberg and Kober's investors. The James Creek Dwellings and Syphax Gardens further down P Street were built by the Alley Dwelling Authority and its successors., The Syphax School, located nearby at 1360 Half Street, honors William Syphax, a descendant of Martha Washington's grandson and an enslaved woman. Syphax was the first president of the board of the Colored Public Schools of Washington (1868-1871) and an outspoken opponent of school segregation. Syphax School operated from 1902 until 1994. In 2004 Manna, Inc. was preserving the original school's exterior as part of a development of affordable housing.