Levittown is the name of seven large suburban housing developments created in the United States by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning veterans and their new families, the communities offered attractive alternatives to cramped central city locations and apartments.

What did Levittown represent?

Levittown is the name of seven large suburban housing developments created in the United States by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning veterans and their new families, the communities offered attractive alternatives to cramped central city locations and apartments.

Why was Levittown so significant?

As the largest and most influential housing development of its time, it became a postwar poster child for everything right (affordability, better standard of living) and wrong (architectural monotony, poor planning, racism) with suburbia. Levittown, right from the start, was famous.

What was popular in the 1950s?

Ten Trends from the Fabulous Fifties

• Soda Fountains. If you wanted a cold, refreshing drink or ice cream back in the 50s, soda fountains were the new answer.
• Poodle Skirts.
• Sock Hops.
• The Conical Bra.
• Sideburns.
• Drive-In Theaters.
• Coonskin Caps.
• Hula Hoop.

What movement began in the 1950’s?

American civil rights movement

Were things better in the 50s?

The 1950s weren’t necessarily “great”, but there were some great things about the 1950s. 1) Low unemployment, cheap housing — a good combination for the working class. Wage growth was steady, job prospects were quite good for people with a high school degree, pensions were generally better vs. today, and so on.

What impact did Levittown in New York have on American in the 1950s?

As a result of the GI Bill that guaranteed home loans, the post-war Baby Boom, and low housing prices, families in the 1950s started to move to the suburbs. Levittown in Long Island, New York, is widely recognized as the first modern American suburb. It had swimming pools, shopping centers, and backyards.

Why were Americans moving to the suburbs during the 1950s?

During the 1950s and early 1960s many Americans retreated to the suburbs to enjoy the new consumer economy and search for some normalcy and security after the instability of depression and war. But many could not. It was both the limits and opportunities of housing that shaped the contours of postwar American society.

What major events happened in the 1950s in America?

• Korean War. Senator Joseph McCarthy Alleges Communists in U.S. Government.
• Univac – First Business Computer. First U.S. Transcontinental Television Transmission.
• Dwight Eisenhower Elected President.
• DNA Double Helix Discovered.
• McCarthy Hearings.
• Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• Hungarian Uprising.
• Sputnik Launched.