William Jaird Levitt (February 11, 1907 - January 28, 1994), is the American real-estate developer widely credited as the father of modern American suburbia. While he didn't invent the building of communities of affordable single-family homes within driving distance of major areas of employment, his innovations in providing affordable housing popularized this type of planned community in the years following
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Background
As President of Levitt & Sons, the real-estate development company founded by his father Abraham Levitt near the start of the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, William Levitt oversaw all aspects of the company except for the designs of the homes they built. Design duties were handled by William's brother Alfred.
Prior to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Levitt & Sons built mostly upscale housing on and around
Long Island, New YorkLong Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban...
. After returning from the war, during which he served in the Navy as a
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
in the
SeabeeThe Seabees are the Construction Battalions of the United States Navy. The Seabees have a history of building bases, bulldozing and paving thousands of miles of roadway and airstrips, and accomplishing myriad other construction projects in a wide variety of military theatres dating back to World...
s, William Levitt saw a need for affordable housing for the returning veterans.
Construction of Levittown, New York
Levitt & Sons chose an area known as Island Trees near
Hempstead, Long IslandHempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. It is sometimes referred to "Hempstead Village" to distinguish it from the town of Hempstead. Hempstead is one of the few Black and Latino majority neighborhoods on Long Island...
as the site for its huge building project after the war. The Company named it
LevittownLevittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is mid way between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,067.Levittown gets its name from...
. Levitt's innovation in creating this planned community was to build the houses in the manner of an assembly line. In normal assembly lines, the workers stay stationary and the product moves down the line. In Levitt's homebuilding assembly line, the product (houses) obviously could not move. Residents started moving into
Levittown, New YorkLevittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is mid way between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,067.Levittown gets its name from...
in 1947. Houses sold for between $8,000 and $12,000 with monthly payments as low as $57, a low price even by 1947 standards. The residents would come to be known as Levittowners.
Other Levittown projects
Levitt went on to plan and build another community of more than 17,000 homes in
Bucks County, PennsylvaniaBucks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The county seat is Doylestown. This county is part of the Delaware Valley area.As of 2000, the population was 597,635. A 2004 U.S...
, which saw its first residents in 1952.
Levittown, Puerto RicoLevittown, Puerto Rico, a suburb of the San Juan MSA and part of the municipality of Toa Baja, is one of the largest planned communities in Puerto Rico. It was developed by Levitt and Sons in 1963....
, built in the 1960s, was also one of Levitt's projects.
During the late 1950s, Levitt and Sons also developed the community known as "Belair at Bowie," in
BowieBowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 50,269 at the 2000 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the State of...
,
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. In 1957 they acquired the historic
Belair MansionThe Belair Mansion, located in Collington, Maryland, United States, was built in circa 1745 as the Georgian plantation home of the Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle...
and estate, home of Maryland's
colonial GovernorThe Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Maryland and is commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Governor is the highest ranking official in the state, and has a broad range of appointive powers in state and local government, as...
Samuel OgleSamuel Ogle was the Provincial Governor of Maryland from 1731 to 1732, 1733 to 1742, and 1746/1747 to 1752.-Background:The Ogle family was quite prominent for many centuries in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England...
and his Belair Stables. In 1959 the community was annexed by Bowie. He also built in
Palm Coast, FloridaPalm Coast a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 68,013; it is the most populous city or town in Flagler County. Palm Coast is a principal town of the Palm Coast, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, designated in 2007...
,
Richmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and
Fairfax, VirginiaThis article refers to the independent city of Fairfax, Va. For the surrounding unincorporated area of Fairfax County with a Fairfax postal address, please see Fairfax County, Virginia...
. Also, in the early 1960s, the company built a 5000 house community in North Central New Jersey called Strathmore-at-Matawan. The
StrathmoreStrathmore, from the Scottish Gaelic for large valley , can refer to a number of people, places in Scotland, or places named by Scottish emigrants:-People:*Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne...
name had originally been used by Levitt & Sons in its upper middle class developments on Long Island in the 1930s.
Levitt & Sons was sold to ITT International Telephone and Telegraph in 1968 for a reported $90 million. Levitt subsequently lost much of his wealth in unsuccessful investments.
Timeline
- 1947 (circa) Built Levittown, New York
Levittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is mid way between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,067.Levittown gets its name from...
- 1952 Built Levittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place and suburban community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 53,966 at the 2000 census. It is 40 feet above sea level. Though not a municipality, it is commonly recognized as the largest suburb of...
- 1955 (circa) Built development in Willingboro, New Jersey
- 1957-1968 built Belair at Bowie in Bowie, Maryland
Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 50,269 at the 2000 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the State of...
(construction continued until 1978 although no longer owned by William Levitt)
- 1962 (circa) Built Strathmore, New Jersey
Strathmore is a census-designated place in Aberdeen Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 6,740 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Strathmore is located at ....
- 1965 (circa) Built Levittown, Puerto Rico
Levittown, Puerto Rico, a suburb of the San Juan MSA and part of the municipality of Toa Baja, is one of the largest planned communities in Puerto Rico. It was developed by Levitt and Sons in 1963....
- 1966 Built a development in Somerset, New Jersey
Somerset is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located at the eastermost section within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 23,040...
- 1968 Sold to International Telephone and Telegraph
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