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| Nassau County Museum/L.I. Studies Institute |
The idea of a "suburban community" was invented by William Levitt, a wealthy businessman who provided affordable homes to many middle-class Americans. The "suburbs" was originally a phrase that was given to an area created near a city to provide for quick transportation to the city without the accompanying problems of the city (such as crime and overcrowding). However, the phrase took on a whole new meaning with the introduction of William Levitt's real estate tactics.
Abraham Levitt, a wealthy lawyer from Britain had two sons, William, the salesman, and Alfred, the designer. While most families during the Great Depression suffered economically, the Levitts enjoyed a great deal of success and prosperity. By the end of the 1930's, the Levitts had built and sold 2,000 houses, a remarkable achievement during a period when Fortune magazine estimated that the average output of American builders was a mere 3.5 houses a year.
In the last years before World War II, the Levitts began to experiment with the idea of building communities, rather than just houses. The plans for Levittown were made during the war years. They were already buying potato fields on Long Island and stockpiled supplies to begin construction. The communities would feature shopping centers and recreation facilities as well as affordable housing. These houses would be priced to fit the budget of middle-income families. Many people felt that Levitt's idea was going to be a failure, but even after forty years, it is still with us.
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| Nassau County Museum/L.I. Studies Institute |
William Levitt's project was started in 1947 and it turned 1,200 acres of Long Island's farmland into a selfÐsufficient residential community of 17,000 homes called Levittown. The community was a tremendous success as young soldiers returning from the war needed a place to live at an affordable price. Levitt managed to mass produce housing for Long Islanders. The result was sturdy housing at an affordable rate. It was so successful that the rest of Long Island began to create these "wonder homes" and other Levittown-type communities were built in New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Puerto Rico, France, Spain, Canada, and Pennsylvania.
Levitt single-handedly changed the value of real estate by providing luxuries, previously only enjoyed by the rich, to the middle class. His style of houses were emulated by communities throughout the world, and Long Island's history has been greatly influenced by Levitt. The migration patterns of settlers into Long Island have been the direct result of William J. Levitt. He will always be remembered as the man who built "modern-day" Long Island.
Long Island has become a densely populate area over the past few decades. The open space and farms have largely given way to communities of houses on small lots (see the linked pictures). The increase in population has brought problems that Long Islanders must work to solve. Traffic, high taxes and a changing economy are associated with Long Island.
The end of the Cold War (period after World War II; tensions between United States and Russia without actual fighting) caused a decrease in spending on the military by the United States government. The result has been fewer jobs for Long Island's defense contractors like Grumman and Fairchild Republic. Long Island's leaders hope the future is in high-tech fields like computers, software, bioengineering. Long Island's mix of good schools, universities, scientific institutions and existing high-tech business could mean a new era of economic growth and expansion.
Early Levittown