Today In History

The building firm Levitt & Sons, Inc. was founded by Abraham Levitt and his two sons William and Alfred. They developed Levittown on Long Island in 1947. William spearheaded the project and is considered the father of modern suburbia. He developed an expertise while in the Navy for mass-producing buildings for military housing using uniform and interchangeable parts. His architect-brother, Alfred, designed a small ranch style house on one floor with a concrete slab. The planned 2,000 home rental community was a hit with returning GIs and their young families and half of the properties were rented within two days of the community being announced on May 7, 1947. The houses were constructed at a rate of 30 houses a day by July 1948. The project expanded to include thousands more homes with schools, community services and postal delivery. With the full support of the FHA, houses were being sold for $ 7,990. with 30-year mortgages, no down payment required, and monthly costs the same as rentals. Unfortunately, Levittown would also become a symbol of racial segregation, consistent with government housing policies of the time who allowed developers to justify segregation within public housing. Non-whites were prohibited from purchasing or renting until the 1960s.