The great post-World War Two social phenomenon of suburbia is demonstrated in this 1954 photo of my father Howard standing behind the first home he ever bought, which was in the Dogwood section of Levittown, Pennsylvania. At the time my parents chose the house only the mid-century modern Levittowner ranch model was being built. He qualified for the $12,500 home by having a GI Bill guarantee for the 3.75% mortgage, and by being Caucasian (Levitt would not sell to any other race). As an original Levittowner owner he had three choices to make: first was which lot your house would be on; second was which color the accent sands in the asbestos sheet siding would be; and third was whether your house would be built with air conditioning. (My mother said red for the sands, my father said yes for the AC). The houses in Dogwood were built in 1953. Though there was an electric dryer, my mother liked the smell of line-dried sheets, so the clothesline (which did not come with the house) was added to the back yard. Every house got the same twigs for landscaping, which included two fruit trees, two pines, and a sycamore. He is standing by the apple tree. In the background are the neighbor’s pines. Photo was taken by my mother on a camera she had brought with her from before they were married. Scan was made from a negative.
The great post-World War Two social phenomenon of suburbia is demonstrated in this 1954 photo of my father Howard standing behind the first home he ever bought, which was in the Dogwood section of Levittown, Pennsylvania. At the time my parents chose the house only the mid-century modern Levittowner ranch model was being built. He qualified for the $12,500 home by having a GI Bill guarantee for the 3.75% mortgage, and by being Caucasian (Levitt would not sell to any other race). As an original Levittowner owner he had three choices to make: first was which lot your house would be on; second was which color the accent sands in the asbestos sheet siding would be; and third was whether your house would be built with air conditioning. (My mother said red for the sands, my father said yes for the AC). The houses in Dogwood were built in 1953. Though there was an electric dryer, my mother liked the smell of line-dried sheets, so the clothesline (which did not come with the house) was added to the back yard. Every house got the same twigs for landscaping, which included two fruit trees, two pines, and a sycamore. He is standing by the apple tree. In the background are the neighbor’s pines. Photo was taken by my mother on a camera she had brought with her from before they were married. Scan was made from a negative. | Click image for Comments. | Home | Browse All Photos