William Levitt and His Role in Long Island History
For those who live in the Long Island area, the name William Levitt may be quite familiar to them. Having named Levittown after himself, William Levitt was responsible for creating a beautiful suburban community in Long Island not far from New York City. The place was established so that individuals could be close enough to the action of the big city yet far enough away to experience the peacefulness of a country-like suburban setting. The following paragraphs will describe the route that William Levitt took to make his dream into a reality.
Getting Started
Growing up in the early 1900s, William Levitt was familiar with a nice way of living. His father was a wealthy lawyer and their family built many homes and sold them almost as quickly as they built them. During this era, this was extremely uncommon as the economy was suffering yet the Levitt family managed to do so with great ease. William Levitt continued with this great success in the years which followed by becoming an established and well-known businessman in the real estate field.
The Suburban Neighborhood
William Levitt created his first suburban neighborhood around 1947 when he bought a large parcel of land and began to section it off into properties. The residential community which later became comprised of 17,000 homes was known as Levittown. As this was the time period when World War II was coming to a close, many of the servicemen were returning from overseas and looking for places to live. Many of these individuals found wonderful housing in Levittown and settled into this suburban community.
The Result
The result of William Levitt’s fantastic creation was the established suburban community. This was found to be a wonderful place for families and individuals alike to settle down and enjoy a safe and lovely environment. Not only were they in a nice setting but they were close to the city if they wished to go into town for one reason or another. Many individuals also chose to work in New York City and live outside the city in a suburban community. The vision of William Levitt was appreciated by individuals all around who came to settle in the suburban community of Levittown.
