Levittown, New Jersey & The Beginning of Suburban Life

I recently found a website, http://www.levittownbeyond.com/ , which shows some of the history of Levitt & Sons (among others), including the development of Levittown, New Jersey. The first was Levittown, NY on Long Island where Levitt & Sons built 17,447 homes from 1947-1952. The second was Levittown, PA where they built 17,311 homes from 1952-1958. Third and the largest was Levittown, NJ where 15,000 homes were planned. In actuality, ~12,000 were constructed from 1958-1972 in Levittown, NJ, now known as Willingboro, NJ. Many other communities were built by Levitt & Sons and it's decendants to this day, though just these three were called Levittown.

New Jersey's Levittown is significant because it was where my parents decided to locate their first purchased home as a family. Dad was a US Air Force Captain and Aircraft Commander and mom was discharged from the US Air Force when I was born in 1957. Both met at and were stationed at nearby McGuire AFB/Fort Dix. I was born at the base hospital and was an "Air Force Brat" by default.

Levittown, New Jersey was open for home sales June 17, 1958 and the first home occupied was at 51 Sussex Drive by Leo & Joan Mount in October 1958. Coincidentally, that was the same month that our model was redesigned and introduced for the 1959 models.

Though I don't recall our original address, it was likely part of the first neighborhood of Levittown, NJ, Somerset Park.

Point of note, Levittown, NJ was originally called Willingboro and was changed in 1959 to Levittown, lasting only 4 or 5 years when they voted to change it back to Willingboro. The reason given was that this was only 12 miles away from Levittown, PA and confusion with the postal service and others was frequent. Some blamed political pressures on the change back.

Searching the site, I dug up the original specs for "The Rancher" which was our Kirk family first house. I constructed the photo montage to the left, illustrating this with our original home photo recently scanned from slides. No coincidence, that had to be the one as the elevation is dead on right down to the angle of the photo and the landscaping (note the tree).

I've been told by dad that the Buick under the snow in the driveway belonged to my grandfather. He passed away in March 1959. The photo was taken some time in December 1959.

There is much interesting information on the web site detailing Levitt & Sons groundbreaking efforts in shaping suburban living after WWII. The first Levittown was reputedly a quick response to a bright idea taking advantage of the post war housing shortage occurring at that time. The second Levittown was in response to a new employment center (a US Steel Mill) in Pennsylvania. Levitt homes included appliances and landscaping with each home. Levitt seemed to have the golden touch.

William Levitt is generally referred to as the inventor of the modern American suburb. Each neighborhood had, within it's boundaries, land donated by Levitt & Sons for a public elementary school, though this was temporarily abandoned in retaliation by Levitt when Levittown, NJ, voted by referendum to change the name back to it's original name of, just a few years earlier, Willingboro, NJ.

Locations for churches and other public facilities were set aside on main thoroughfares, donated to religious groups and other organizations. Other amenities included Olympic sized public pools, "greenbelt" parks, baseball fields, playgrounds and shopping centers. This sounds very familiar to me for reasons explained in the next paragraph. Residents were frequently called "Levittowners" and a sociological book was written in 1967 detailing the ways of life of the New Jersey Levittowners. Subsequently, we didn't stay there very long as GMATS and civilian life was a-calling.

In November 1960, we moved to Farmington, Michigan after dad exited the Air Force to accept a Pilot job with General Motors Air Transport Section. Our neighborhood was designed in classical Levitt fashion where my two brothers and I grew up. We were raised in typical baby boomer suburban style, as many were. Much of this suburban lifestyle was pioneered by Levitt and Sons. I'm glad it was. We were very lucky to grow up the way we did.

Opening day at Levittown, N.J., June 7, 1958.

Potential buyers line up to inspect the House B (Rancher)sample home; House C (3-Bedroom Colonial) and House A (Cape Cod) follow, with the modern all-glass Exhibit Center in the background.