Profile America

First Levittown Opens

October 1, 2017 6:01 AM·
Levittown: The Beginning of a Community Built on Potato Fields - patch.com

Levittown: The Beginning of a Community Built on Potato Fields – patch.com

Sunday, October 1 — The nature of American neighborhoods began to take on a new look on this date 70 years ago. That’s when one of the first planned communities built by a real estate developer opened and began receiving its new residents — Levittown, in New York. Named for William and Alfred Levitt, the town ultimately contained more than 17,000 Cape Cod and ranch houses, snapped up by servicemen returning from World War II and facing an acute housing shortage. In 1947, the houses in Levittown had 800 square feet of floor space and sold for under $8,000. Now, Levittown has a population of about 52,000, with a median home value of over $357,000. That’s about twice the national median home value of $178,600.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online.

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Author: Michael Benjamin is a public affairs consultant and an editorial board member at The New York Post. He is a former contributing columnist to the NY Post, City and State NY and other publications. He is a former Member of the New York State Assembly (2003-2010) and once led the Bronx Board of Elections. Since leaving office, he has appeared as a commentator on TWC NY1, Bronxnet OPEN, Good Day NY, and Al Jazeera America. His columns and blog focus on corruption, government, education, politics, redistricting, nuclear energy and race. He holds a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University.