List of Levitt & Sons Housing Developments on Long Island

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This article contains a list of the housing developments built by Levitt & Sons on Long Island, in the State of New York.

Description[edit]

Background[edit]

During the 20th century, Long Island (and the US as a whole) saw a pattern of mass suburbanization.[1] Levitt and Sons – one of the most famous real estate firms of the 20th century – built many housing developments across Long Island (and the US, as a whole), including Levittown, New York – which is widely considered as being America's first mass-produced suburb, and also as the community which set the standards in post-war neighborhood designs.[2][3][4]

Controversial discriminatory housing practices[edit]

Levitt & Sons was the center of much controversy over the decades for its discriminatory and segregational housing practices.[5] They refused to sell to People of Color and preferred not to sell to people of the Jewish faith (despite the fact that the Levitts were themselves Jewish), as, at the time, the Federal Housing Administration still allowed these policies in public housing developments, at the developer's discretion, with reasoning.[6] The FHA even discouraged developers from selling to non-Whites by refusing to offer mortgages to communities that were racially integrated.[6]

List of Long Island Levitt and Sons communities[edit]

List of Levitt & Sons communities on Long Island, NY:[7][8][9]
Name Location Year(s) constructed Notes
Strathmore at Rockville Centre Rockville Centre 1929-19??
Strathmore-Vanderbilt Manhasset 1930s
Strathmore at Great Neck Great Neck 1938
Strathmore at Manhasset Manhasset 19??
Strathmore Village at Manhasset Manhasset 19??
Munsey Park Munsey Park 1944–1953 Only land sales.[7]
West Park Westbury 1946
Levittown, NY Towns of Hempstead & Oyster Bay 1946–1951 This Levitt development is known for being the first large-scale, suburban

planned community in the USA.[4]

Roslyn Country Club Roslyn Heights 1946–1947
Strathmore at Roslyn East Hills 1947–1948
Country Club Estates Roslyn 1949 Built on the land of the former Draper Estate.[8]
Strathmore at Flower Hill Flower Hill 1948-195? Never built; would have been built over a portion of the former Munson Estate.[9]
South Strathmore Manhasset 1949
Landia (unbuilt) Jericho 1951 Never built; deposits were refunded,

and the land was sold to Gross Morton.[7][8]

Strathmore at Stony Brook Stony Brook 1963
Tanglewood at Coram Coram 1966–1967
Strathmore East Coram 1967-197? Development description, houses, & brochures (1972 & 1973)
Strathmore Village Stony Brook 1960s
Setauket Gables East Setauket 196?–1969
Strathmore at Huntington

(includes Strathmore Hills)

Dix Hills 1967–1971 &

1969–1971, respectively

Strathmore Gate Stony Brook 1971–1972
Strathmore Gate East Stony Brook 1972-197?
Strathmore Glen City of Glen Cove 1972 Development description, houses, and brochure (1972)
Strathmore Ridge Ridge 1972
Strathmore Estates Coram 1973
Strathmore Estates Mt. Sinai 1975
Woodcrest at Coram Coram 1985
Manor Woods Estates Manorville 1986
Fox Ridge ?? 19??

See also[edit]

  • Levitt & Sons – the main article for the firm which built these developments
  • Levittown, New York – the main article for Levittown (also known as Island Trees/Jerusalem), New York
  • Levittown – the seven Levitt developments known as (or formerly known as) "Levittown"

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lesh, Bruce. "Post-War Suburbanization: Homogenization or the American Dream?" (PDF). www.umbc.edu.
  2. ^ "Levittown: The Archetype for Suburban Development". American History Magazine. October 2007.
  3. ^ "Levittown Beyond – Introduction". LevittownBeyond.
  4. ^ a b Marshall, Colin (April 28, 2015). "Levittown, the prototypical American suburb – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 25". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Lambert, Bruce (December 28, 1997). "At 50, Levittown Contends With Its Legacy of Bias". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Kushner, David. Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb. New York: Walker & Company. p. 43.
  7. ^ a b c "Levitt Communities @ levittownbeyond.com". levittownbeyond.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d "Levitt Communities". Google My Maps. Levittown Beyond. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Map: Subdivision of the Munson Estate (Map). December 10, 1948 – via Nassau County Public Records.

External links[edit]

  • http://levittownbeyond.com/index.html (Levittown Beyond; a website that details the history of the firm and their many housing developments)
  • Levitt Communities Map (a map made by Levittown Beyond of Levitt developments and significant community features, such as their model homes, on Long Island and across the world)