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This area of the website is dedicated to
things that made Levittown a great
community. There are more additional Photo
Slideshows as you scroll down this web page,
one on Racism in Early Levittown and
another on Pride of Ownership.
The Rules
Of course, you cannot be the "perfect
community" without a set of rules to
follow. A 1950s version of today’s
“Homeowner’s Association Covenants”,
Levitt & Sons published, and had new
home owner’s agree to and sign, a set of
rules regarding the appearance and
maintenance of their new homes. Click on
the link below.
Slideshow - Use
to change or pause. Click on
to watch
slideshow in full screen mode.
Racism & Integration in Levittown
Levittown, PA had its share of
growing pains. In Levittown's early
years, Levitt refused to sell homes to
African-Americans. In 1957 one family, named
Myers, purchased a home in the Dogwood
Hollow section.
This caused a big ruckus and emotions
flared. Mobs gathered outside of the
house and threw rocks and bottles,
breaking windows. One neighbor who had
helped the black family had a cross
burned on his lawn. Daisy Myers became
sort of the “Rosa Parks” of Levittown by
refusing to leave. The Myer’s family
lived in Levittown for a while, but
eventually moved away in the late 1950s.
By the time, I was growing up in
Levittown in the 1960s, race was not
such a big deal. There were not many
black families, but those that came were
accepted by almost everybody.
Slideshow - Use
to change or pause. Click on
to watch
slideshow in full screen mode.
Pride of Ownership
Especially for Veterans
from the city and the rural areas,
moving to Levittown was the American
dream of single family home ownership. Levitt’s pricing and the
GI Bill made that dream a reality for
over 70,000 people in Levittown. For Levittowners, yard work and gardening
were some of the most important and
time-consuming leisure-time rituals that
bonded neighboring families that were,
in other ways, often very different.
Families watered and fertilized and
nursed their little trees with the same
concentration they devoted to their
children. There was a keen sense of
pride of ownership of that 70 x 100 foot
lot.
Slideshow - Use
to change or pause. Click on
to watch
slideshow in full screen mode.
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