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| Alec and Pete in front of the store at 1203 H St NE |
By 1910, four enterprising Cokinos brothers were listed in the street directory. Panos, who had not yet fully adopted his American name Pete, was living at 1203 H Street NE with, surprise, his older brother Vassilios who was listed as William. I don't think my father ever knew that William tried out life in America. Panos' younger brother, Alec is also listed and I am guessing he came with William in 1909.
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| Al Jolson's home 41/2 St SW Library of Congress |
At first I thought 4 1/2 Street was a typo, but a 1905 plan to further organize the city's numerical grid incorporated fractions. I guess it made sense at the time. After the Civil War, 4 1/2 Street traditionally divided free Blacks from immigrant populations. This whole neighborhood was wiped out in the 1950s in the name of “Urban Renewal,” but since its revival in 2018, a historic plaque popped up recognizing 4 ½ Street as a major shopping destination in its day.
Between the street directories and the census of 1910, I see James and Daniel, both married and living above the 8th Street store with their wives Eva and Angelika. Eva’s brother Dionysios and seventeen year old Nick Kendrotis- listed as “Cokinos” were living there as well.
By the end of 1911, The Cokinos Brothers (and cousins) had added another store to their chain at 924 9th Street NW- near the corner of K Street, one block from where the Greek community had just purchased land to build St Sophia’s. (Smart cookies, those Cokinos men.) An article in the Washington Post in 1922 refers to six shops in the chain, but I could only uncover 4 or 5 if we count James buying back the H Street Store.
Alec, Adam and Pete were all a part of this booming candy biz which was now affably called Cokinos Brothers Confectionaries. With the opening of a fourth store, I’m guessing both Pete and Adam could finally afford to think about starting families.
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