One-Stop Neighborhood Watch

For More Than 100 Capitol Hill Residents, Retiree's Home Becomes Delivery Central

In a city of workaholics who leave home early and return late, many neighborhoods have their version of William Outlaw -- or would like to.

The 80-year-old retiree accepts packages for 130 Capitol Hill neighbors when they are not home during delivery hours. His practice is so well established that delivery services often head directly to his door without stopping elsewhere on the block.

What started a few years ago as a kindly offer after several packages were stolen from neighborhood stoops has turned into a mammoth undertaking. Outlaw has turned his living room into a de facto storehouse of boxes wrapped in brown paper; on any given day, dozens of packages and padded envelopes are stacked high on tabletops and floors.

Some neighbors call Outlaw the unofficial mayor of the street, not only for his grass-roots post office but also for the way he volunteers to clean sidewalks, check on homes while neighbors are vacationing and do other odd chores.

"If you live on this block, it is almost impossible not to know him," said William Frazier, 62. "He's a neighbor who is always doing something for somebody."

His name is passed like a secret treasure among grateful neighbors, so much so that real estate agents have touted him as a selling point to prospective buyers.

"We've had furniture delivered to his house," said Martha Brant, 40, who was introduced to him through friends. "We just wouldn't be able to have packages delivered as much as we do without him."

Outlaw has lived in his house on Capitol Hill for 65 years. A Korean War veteran, he retired from the Indian Head Naval Ordnance Station in the early 1980s. He and his wife, Pocahontas, opened a U Street restaurant called Outlaw Kitchen, where they served home-style meals. But they closed the business after William Outlaw had a stroke in 2000.

About four years ago, the neighborhood was hit with a rash of package thefts -- items snatched from front porches while residents were at work. For a while, some residents had their packages delivered to rented mailboxes downtown.

Retired and sitting at home almost all day, Outlaw offered to accept deliveries. Neighbors began leaving handwritten notes taped to their doors directing delivery people to leave the packages at Outlaw's home.

Now, even on routine days, his living room is overrun by more than 50 packages. During the holidays, the room begins to look like Santa's workshop, with packages of every size sent from across the country and wrapped in colorful paper.

"I've had 100 packages in one day," he said. "During Christmas, you can't get into my living room."