The mass production system of factory manufactured panellized construction was invented by Levitt, and is now the standard nationwide.

Keep up with history and join our newsletter. They only lived there for about three years, but babies #3 and #4 were born there. 16Later, the Federal Housing Authority continued to use those HOLC standards when issuing mortgages.

So black people helped build communities they were forbade to live inand? 8, Despite such meticulous community planning, all was not serene in Levittown. You dont have to comprehend or even address everything. Should say That the wording highly restricted was placed in the advertising of every whites-only community or development -as far back as the 1920s- as a way of expressing that whites only requirement . It was a not-so-closeted reassurance to the well-to-do potential white buyers that there would not be anyone who could potentially be identified as others in their community, besides domestic staff, of course. Obviously, a petition to STOP them from moving in. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said later in the century, A nation of homeowners, of people who own a real share in their land, is unconquerable., How and why did suburbia become such an iconic and beloved part of American life? I lived in Levittown PA in a 2 story house. What the Levitts did was perhaps more notable because of size of their remarkable housing development and the clarity of their discriminatory policy. You said: I think if you look back at the history of that time, and even before, back to the Twenties, you will find that Levitt basically had his financial hands tied behind his back in reference to the policy of Whites only buyers for not just Levittown, but for all of their previous building, whether it was contracted or built on spec. NO lender, no bank, no savings and loan, no building and loan, not EVEN the Federal Government programs like the FHA or the GI Bill lenders, would write loans for housing for black borrowers. That the wording highly restricted was placed in the advertising of EVERY whites only community or development as a way of expressing that whites only requirement for buying property or housing no matter how deep anybodys pockets happened to be.

In fact, it was only on Sundays, because they felt it wasnt tidy looking on what was supposed to be a Family Day or a day of rest, for people who wanted to enjoy their backyards with their families to be forced to look at your laundry flapping in the breeze! Anyway, there was no insult, assumption (other than that which I have already described, and based on previous experience) or unqualified anger implied, or directed at anyone in particular. The uniform houses and immaculate lawns of the Levittown version of Suburbia made an indelible impression in the American mind, and an image of the winding roads of Levittown still conjures associations of a peaceful, wholesome Leave it To Beaver-type existence. Levittown itself arguably embodied the best and worst of the postwar American story; it was a result of the entrepreneurship and ingenuity that has come to define the American spirit, but it also participated in the violent prejudice that has also been part of American history. Indeed, the very charters of Levittown and suburbs across America were closely intertwined with the preservation of the capitalist American way in the face of growing Soviet international influence. And boy, they checked you OUT too! The story of Levittown captures both the hopeful and darker sides of the rise of the American suburbs. In the years after World War II, however, not everyone could attain that promised tranquility. It wasnt only segregationists used the charge of Communism to their advantage.

In 1947, entrepreneur Abraham Levitt and his two sons, William and Alfred, broke ground on a planned community located in Nassau County, Long Island. It was extremely easy to see in Real Estate ads back in the 1920s for new developments, that they were meant for, and would ONLY be sold to white borrowers, with impeccable social references, in the fine and sometimes not so fine print in the beautifully written and illustrated ads for these developments, where the euphemism Heavily Restricted was employed, allegedly in the ad to protect property values meaning if your face is anything but lily white, or if you go to Temple on Saturday instead of Church on Sunday, then you wont even get past the front door of the real estate companys or the builders office. Yes, it was written into the contracts, in very clear, non- mistakable black and white, in every housing development of the day. Reading comprehension work on that, will ya? Especially not in areas that were predominantly white, and where more white people would be living. White residents of Levittown and other still segregated communities across the country took to blandly referencing their Americanism as justification for racial exclusivity and painted those who sought to enforce integration as that which was at the time perceived as the most un-American of allegiances, communist. 1. The appeal of living beyond the noise, pollution, overcrowding, and disease of the city, while still close enough to enjoy the benefits of its industrial and cultural vitality, is an idea that historians have traced back thousands of years to the very first civilizations. An aunt and uncle stayed in their 1948 VA financed Levittown home until moving to Assisted Living at age 90. The song has been covered by countless other folk singers since, including Pete Seeger: The suburbs have clearly come to symbolize more than just collections of white picket-fenced houses outside a city. The original same little boxes from the folk song have almost disappeared. Crystal N. Galyean is a writer, editor, and historian who lives in New Jersey, where she makes sweet sweet bluegrass music with her band the Great Grassby. His hands were not tied. The Levitts would go on to create two other communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the legacy of the first Levittown has become a legend in the history of the American suburbs. Or, something else with which Im not familiar? After the financial success of the Levittown in Long Island, Levitt and Sons went on to build two more Levittowns, one in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey. In later years and when they sold in 1966 after I had finished high school, no one mentioned it.

Ahhh then you have done absolutely NO research on the racial profiling of the times, or a concept called red lining or the reason that areas of predominantly black residence are and always have been self propagating in the matter of low quality, high cost housing, and business presence. It worse than Scotland. 12 Bill Levitt himself once said, No man who owns his own home and lot can be a Communist, he has too much to do. 13 Later, Levitt vilified those who questioned his segregationist policies as communists.

But, even in the 21st century, the ability to do two very simple things in these kinds of messages, and in text messages are STILL missing! Maybe Ill look into that situation one of these days! 14, The construction and growth of Levittown was a godsend for many houseless families, but it was also a battleground for divisive conceptions of race and political differences in the United States. Why would they? Even the FHA, AND THE VA LOANS sources required it. By the 1920s, the first suburban boom was occurring with nearly 900,000 new homes a year springing up in new communities outside city lines. Your Rah, rah portion appears out of context. The problem here is the unqualified lack of expression of several factors most important in interpersonal communications. When my parents bought in 1948, they bought directly from the Levitt company and they were told quite clearly of that of the white-only policy. Historian Kenneth Jackson has written that the post-world War II single-family tract house, whatever its aesthetic failings, offered growing families a private haven in a heartless world. 5. As the article notes and other histories confirm, housing discrimination was widespread and practiced by all the those involved in real estate (government agencies, lenders, realtors, homeowners, etc.) As one neighbor of the Myers family told Life magazine during the standoff, Hes [William Myers] probably a nice guy, but every time I look at him I see $2,000 drop off the value of my house. 18 While federal policies encouraged homeownership as a way to reinforce the capitalist spirit of the nation and real estate marketing celebrated homeownership as the key ingredient to an ideal domestic existence, government bureaucrats, real estate agents, and landlords all implemented policies which helped exclude a large portion of American society from realizing that dream. Construction of Levittown was famously quick: a home was built every 16 minutes. I nave been looking at house plans at developments in Wales glad to see they are including closets now. Yes, I know all about that stuff. Good for your Dad! Sewage and water plants were financed or built as required. The Levittowns are a reflection of the larger communities, and the financing policies, where they are located. The later Levittowns provided for economic diversity also; but bank lending practices dictated separate streets and neighborhoods for the larger more costly homes. Regarding dryers, many suburbs today have restrictive covenants banning backyard clotheslines.

The Levitts level of control over the appearance of Levittown did not stop at the yards and houses but extended to the appearance of the inhabitants themselves. The Myers family faced endless harassment as well as implicit and explicit threats of violence from other residents in the community, with little help from the local police to keep the mobs of angry racists from congregating outside their home day and night. Ive lost one uncle, about 10 years ago, from asbestosis, who worked in the fabric mills in the mid-50s, before becoming a welder in the shipbuilding industry for decades, and my stepfather is dealing with asbestosis now, at the age of 90, but he was a white collar piping designer on submarines. It was called Buying on time with a dollar down, a dollar a week for a million weeks (or so it seemed sometimes.). The authors mention of the role of anti-communism as justification for discrimination is interesting, though I would suppose it played a lesser role in Levitts thinking than fears about property values. Even the maintenance of houses and yards were meticulously governed; buyers agreed to a laundry list of rules that, for example, prohibited residents from hanging laundry to dry outside their homes.

Why do you have a problem with questions?

In 1957, William and Daisy Myers, a black couple with young children, bought a house in Levittown, Pennsylvania from the former owners. Later in life I received original photos of different workers building Levittown,Pa which shows Levittown homes being built and this example. The rating system eventually contributed to reinforcing segregation as real estate agents and landlords steered white buyers to white communities and African Americans to poorer developments. The houses were simple, unpretentious, and most importantly to its inhabitants, affordable to both the white and blue-collar worker. The company explained that it was not possible to reduce racial segregation while they were attempting to reduce the housing shortage. My parents bought a house in Levittown, NY in 1953 after my Dad returned from the Korean War. In accordance with this policy, the buying agreement signed by all those who purchased homes in Levittown stated that the property could not be used or rented by any individuals other than those of the Caucasian race. Though the Levitts were Jewish, they did not wish to sell homes to Jewish families: As a Jew, I have no room in my heart for racial prejudice. I remember when a black family wanted to move in , someone went around with a petition and my dad would not sign it.

Good Lord, who doesnt know them by now? Bill later became the public face of the company, loved (and later reviled), gracing magazine covers and dubbed the King of Suburbia.. Especially not in areas that were predominantly white, and where more white people would be living. From Wikipedia on Levittowns history: The discriminatory housing standards of Levittown were consistent with government policies of the time. just so you know, the washer/dryer can be found under the kitchen counter in many countries outside the USA. I specifically said: Also, someone else perhaps you as well (I dont recall ;you post A LOT) said parents never mentioned that part of the contract. The Federal Housing Administration allowed developers to justify segregation within public housing. Not sure which carries more weight. Yes, my very, very green focused sister-in-law lives in one of those communities, and she hates that part of the many covenants they seem forced to endure. Hands tied? Ha! The Levitts experimented with and implemented wholly new methods of building a community, taking the division of labor and efficiency to the extreme, transforming a cottage industry into a major manufacturing process. 7 They divided the construction of each home into twenty-seven steps starting with the laying of a concrete base. I would imagine at the time they were just too concerned with putting a roof over their growing family. This response alone was interesting, thank you. Minimal need for school busses; the planning allowed all kids to safely walk to school. A combination of unusually high birth rates (which bred the baby boomer generation) and plummeting construction left many families struggling to find any suitable shelters, sometimes living in boxcars, chicken coops, and large iceboxes. No need though. My recollection of the 1950s is that public figures generally seemed eager to portray themselves as anticommunist patriots. Yes, I know ALL about the risks, and the dangers, and the health issues its associated with, and the cover-ups by the companies who dealt with it in their products. The suburbs, of course, were not born in the 1950s. This article has additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York. . Thanks for expanding on the discrimination question. You work on that. The classic sociology text The Levittowners (Herbert Gans) demonstrated the benefits to family stability and mental health when moving from Philadelphia slums to Levittown Pa or Willingboro (nee Levittown) New Jersey. As is true all over the country. They couldnt even buy their way out with large sums of cash, say from an insurance settlement paid out when the head of the household died, because there were no nice areas of homes to buy in that werent strictly segregated. Abraham, a horticultural enthusiast, was heavily involved in the landscaping and gardening of the community. You work so hard to prove my point. Thomas Jefferson, for example, dreamed of the U.S. as a nation of small yeoman farmers, and once wrote that he viewed large cities as pestilential to the morals, the health, and the liberties of man. 3, Despite Jeffersons vision, cities in the U.S. formed and flourished. Let it be.

I enjoyed meeting new friends and how the neighbors worked together as neighbors. In 1955, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sued federal mortgage agencies which had helped future homeowners finance the purchase of homes in the community, basing the suit on the denial of six black veterans from purchasing homes. Why would they? You are not here to police all posts and assure they are all in sync with yours. What are you 12? We hit your inbox once a month and never abuse your personal information. By including closets now do you mean closets to hang your clothing in? My love for this community allows me to organize , LevittownInternationallyKnownCommunitiesInc.net is the website. I never said you Shari do not know about the risks of asbestos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York, Japanese-American UC Berkeley Students And Higher Education after the Camps, Racialized Borders within the United States, The Battle Hymn of the Republic Marches On. Also, someone else perhaps you as well (I dont recall ;you post A LOT) said parents never mentioned that part of the contract. It was much more of a proactive statement to those who have commonly come along behind me, quoting chapter and verse regarding those circumstances, automatically assuming I am an unqualified Rah!

Unless of course, your credit was trashed, or you had a long list of arrests and convictions, or some other reason they could find on paper. The community density is twice the suburban average, a great defense against urban sprawl. Its less of an issue today, because most owners have expanded over the years. My family moved into our Levittown home in 1952. Some historians have postulated that after two world warsboth with staggering death tollsfollowed by the uncertainty of the Cold War nuclear age, American families found stability and protection within the suburban home.

As a result, American veterans who wished to purchase a home in Levittown were unable to do so if they were black.

Social progress in the US has always been a bitter struggle, one that is still ongoing, 160 years after the Civil War. They would not make loans to people of color in that time, and made that extremely clear, so that IT would be extremely clear in any court in the land. Ive not witnessed any implied anger anywhere. You do that quite well therefore theres enough assuming going on in the world. Jackson wrote in Crabgrass Frontier, Suburbiais a manifestation of such fundamental characteristics of American society as conspicuous consumption, a reliance upon the private automobile, upward mobility, the separation of the family nuclear units, the widening division between work and leisure, and the tendency toward racial and economic exclusiveness. To some, suburbia was a symbol of American can-do; to others, it was a symbol of conformity and exclusion. ; ) oh and ! Levitt housed hundreds of thousands of families in a hurry, in neighborhoods that have held their value, and today exhibit an extraordinary degree of physical diversity. Before the sale of Levittown homes began, the sales agents were aware that no applications from black families would be accepted. If Levitt had decided to be a Social reformer at the time instead of a housing developer, he would have had NO sales whatsoever. So much of the American story has involved, literally and ideologically, turning away from the crowded industry of the city to the romantic beauty of the frontier. There was a tradeoff, which these comments have ignored. Even at the time, the iconic community represented for many all that was hopeful and wholesome for the estimated twenty million Americans who followed Levittowns lead and made the trek to suburbia in the 1950s. You are making excuses for a racist. Each community had a hierarchy of streets, so that the arterial highways separating each neighborhood had no driveways, preserving the carrying capacity of the town owned infrastructure. The banks and other lenders required it. When our family drove around looking at the variety of styles I noticed the workers. our dryer was in my bedroom, the front one which were the smaller of the two.. washers were next to heaters.. A petition for what? I still have photos taken on our front lawn of the first four of us kids in our family. The results were outstanding: At Levittown NY, homes have pre-plumbed expandable second stories, a two sided brick fireplace, built in washer/dryer, a TV set built in the wall, a rotating bookcase wall to allow for larger gatherings, and maintenance free cedar siding, asbestos siding and roofing, aluminum windows. More houses were lost that way than most any other in those times. I was an architect and planner with the firm in the early 60s and know whereof I speak: 1.

If her house wasnt fully paid for, I think she would prefer to go elsewhere. Asbestos roofs! Perhaps thats part of the reason the Levitt builders took steps such as winding streets, landscaping, community parks with pools, etc. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); In addition to providing lifelong history lovers, teachers, and students free access to premier digital research, the editors and writers of U.S. History Scene are available for freelance or consulting work. You did not specify. U.S. writer Pearl Buck once compared the architectural and racial uniformity of the Levittown as reminiscent of the conformity of Communist China. Ive observed outward anger in your posts. They were certainly available, but rather expensive, especially for brand new homeowners who just exhausted their savings, cashed in all the War Bonds they possibly could, packed up, picked up, and moved themselves, bag, baggage, and baby carriage, to a brand new house in a brand new suburb! But the legacy of the suburbs that Levittown embodied was not simple, as shown by the struggle of the Myers. The specter of communism was also heavily implicated in the Myers struggle, as members of both sides of the conflict hurled charges of socialism at their opponents. 4 Just like Thomas Jefferson had dreamed of farmers with their own land to sow as an essential ingredient of Americas future, homeownership became not only a mark of success but was perceived as an attribute to both the character of the individual and of the nation. The Levitts homes were affordable, planted in a picture-perfect, carefully controlled community, and were equipped with futuristic stoves and television sets. Combined with certain types of cement and coloring materials, it could become home siding, with which the original Levittown homes were sided. The legacy of the policy lingers as even today Levittown has a very small percentage non-white, which is perhpas surprising considering that the houses are still among the most affordable in the county. ), Homeowners were deluged with advertisements from local hardware, home improvement, and even appliance dealers, who were either pedaling THEIR best grade, best buy on umbrella type clotheslines, or even automatic clothes dryers! That is, minus the last sentence. I have no doubt plenty of people in those communities had no issues with that clause. Sadly, the experiences of the Myers in Levittown were not unique but were echoed in houses, apartments, and streets across the nation. Others attacked suburban communities not just for their segregationism, but for a uniformity of spirit some saw as worth struggling against.

What I mean is color, and underlining!

This is an open forum; my views may be different from yours. On further thought, I figure its probably because either of the expense, or more likely that the company saw more profit potential in selling TWO appliances over one! I think themajor reason I didnt move there years ago was that I couldnt pronounce the names of streets, cities and towns. Thanks for that education. How was segregation still such a real, persevering and violent part of communities long after residential segregation laws had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1917? Even years later, I never heard either of my parents mention the policy of segregation in the community. Activist groups across the U.S. and even individuals within Levittown, who united under the Committee to End Discrimination in Levittown, protested the Levitts racist policies. and it persisted even into the 1970s. The system also enforced the perception that the entry of racial minorities into a community resulted in a drop in property values. Banks, savings and loans, etc., and so forth, would not have written mortgage #1 for any buyer of color, and whites wouldnt have set foot on the grounds for fear that they would. And as long as its left alone, and not broken apart but just covered, its completely safe. He claimed their actions were not discriminatory but intended to maintain the value of their properties. Not all communities replicated the racial tensions of Levittown, however. Help us continue to bring you the best of the archives without the dust! If the hands reaching into those deep pockets were black, or any shade other than Lily white, they were absolutely not welcome. They had a wide and very diverse circle of friends. Within a few years, the Levitts had transformed the former farmland into a suburban community housing thousands of menmany of whom were veterans returned from World War IIand their families. My parents moved into Levittown, NY, after the war. And the Levitts took more than the homes themselves into considerationthey designed community streets along curvilinear patterns to create a graceful, un-urban grid like feel, and directed cars going through the development to the outside of the community so Levittown would not be disturbed by noisy traffic. 2. 6 To many of those families, the Levittowns in Long Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were the answer to their prayers.

Each community was built with neighborhood schools, parks and community shopping center, sidewalks, all built by Levitt. The HOLC later implemented a system of rating neighborhoods with letter grades to help more systematically discern property values. William Levitt attempted to justify their decision to only sell homes to white families by saying that it was in the best interest for business. Marketplace preference for the colonial look ended all this innovation in later developments. I just reread what I have posted regarding this particular subject, and even though I was sure it wasnt me, verified it in case it might have been something taken out of context. They were apparently better quality to everyone involved those who lived under them, who made them, who made loans on or insured the homes they were installed on, because they were fireproof. As historian Jackson has written, For perhaps the first time, the federal government embraced the discriminatory attitudes of the marketplace. But! Nowhere did I say YOU definitely saidand it was well within context. Advertisers for suburban developments emphasized the green, open spaces of the suburbs and hinted buyers would find a sense of peace and tranquility unattainable in city life. 2But the delineation between urban and nonurban has particular significance in U.S. history. Starting in the early nineteenth century, the advent of new forms of transportation (such as trains and steamboats) made commuting to urban centers more convenient. 2022 U.S. History Scene, all rights reserved. By 1950, 80% percent of Levittowns male residents commuted to jobs in Manhattan. Her writing has appeared in various educational publications as well as the Village Voice, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and literary journals. 9. Senator Joseph McCarthy himself called public housing projects breeding ground[s] for communists. 11, The Levitts and McCarthy joined forces in promoting Levittown as a more American, capitalist alternative to public housing solutions. This included framing innovations that anticipated the hurricane code standards required decades later. OF course, after a time, this proved unenforceable, as well as the No fenced in back yards covenant, and the Levitts DID prescribe the TYPE of clothesline you could have as well. I hope it will. The Levitts explained that they would open up applications to blacks after they had sold as many homes to white people as possible. One problem was a severe housing shortage. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued an Executive Order prohibiting racial discrimination in any housing developments built or bought with the assistance of the federal government. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window).

Things like body language, eye expression, facial expressions in general, tone of voice, inflection, and so forth.

There has been so much remodeling that very few original Cape Cods exist in Levittown, Long Island. You put your dry dirty laundry in, and later took your dry CLEAN laundry out! Journalist David Kushner, the author of a book about the Myers experience, wrote of that less told story of Levittowns history, It epitomizes how systematically people can be shut out of a dreamand yet how heroically they can take it back. 15. Think about the options: publicly financed high rise housing, most of which was imploded three or four decades after they were built? Previously, prejudices were personalized and individualized; FHA exhorted segregation and enshrined it as public policy. 17. I have no insight into how much the Levitts lacked freedom to choose their discrimination policies. Again, why would they? It had to be that umbrella type that stuck into a pipe permanently installed to just under ground level, and folded out like an umbrella, and then the most important point would be folded up, removed and stored away out of sight until the next time you did the wash. (As long as it wasnt on a Sunday!