Part 3: James, Pete (and Adam) Cokinos Hang on 8th Street SE (1906-1908)

Inspection, Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. Washington D.C, 1917 L. O. C.

Pete and his cousin James arrived the same year the Marine barracks were built on 8th St SE. They moved into a storefront/ townhouse, and lived above their candy shop. The building was built in the 1880s or earlier, and is the only Cokinos candy shop still standing in 2025.

721 8th St SE

Many of the older DC street directories list both a person’s occupation and address and also provide a gold mine of information in between censuses. The 1907 directory listed James Cokinos as a confectioner with a shop called “The Sugar  Bowl” at 721 8th Street SE. Back then a confectionary often included a soda fountain and served as a social hub open all day and part of the evening. James and Pete made their own ice cream in a basement which is still unfinished- and more like a cellar. They both worked hard, day and night- knowing they were paving the way for more family members. In 1920, I found a help wanted ad for a shop girl to work a shift from 4-11 pm at the 721 location. I also found one for shoe blacks, so I imagine this was a place to get your shoes shined, too. 

The Greek community here was pretty small at the time. Only a few hundred immigrants were listed in the 1900 census. Like many immigrant populations, they relied on each other to build community in their new world which usually focused on a church. Before they had a building of their own, the DC Greeks had already decided their church would be named for St Sophia in honor of the famous Hagia Sophia of Constantinople. The congregation first met with a traveling priest in 1904 in a space over a warehouse on Indiana Avenue. By 1908, the community had enough money to rent the upstairs room of Adas Israel synagogue at 6th and G NW for more formal services with a more permanent priest. I know our family was a big part of this early congregation as they moved from the synagogue to their own church on 8th and L in 1921 and finally to the cathedral on Massachusetts Avenue.