The Phenomenon Called Levittown Is 70 Years Old

The Bucks County Free Library in Bristol Township opened its doors Saturday to nearly 100 people coming to hear local historian Dave Marable talk about Levittown, the Pennsylvania masterpiece built in the 1950s.

Marable organized the event to celebrate Levittown’s birthday and again emphasize the historic significance of Levittown through retelling the story. A retired teacher, self-educated local historian, Marable is a Levittown “kid” who grew up in the Willowood section.  

“My goal is to preserve the history of Levittown,” Marable said. “It also is personally important to me.”

“It was Levitt’s goal to provide homes, not houses, he often said – and that he did,” he added. 

Marable still calls Levittown home, now spending much of his time maintaining Levittown artifacts, myriad photos, newspapers, film and holding sessions like Saturday’s.

More importantly, Marable continues to advocate for official, historic recognition of Levittown. 

In the early 1950s, Lower Bucks County was in the sights of a very large, development company, the New York-based Levitt & Sons. Their vision culminated in construction of 17,311 homes on the rich, farm fields of Lower Bucks County, providing a sprawling and mostly self-contained community.  

Levittown spans four municipalities: Bristol, Falls, and Middletown townships and Tullytown Borough. It is is served by the Bristol Township, Pennsbury, and Neshaminy school districts. An early effort to incorporate into one municipality failed.

There’s a quote from a movie: “Build it and they will come.” And so they did. Among the first homeowners were veterans of WWII and the Korean War, followed by incoming U.S. Steel workers, and young couples from Philadelphia and New York.

To the veteran who returned from the Korean war, to the woman who still lives in the family home in Cobalt Ridge, the memories many shared were of a special time and place. 

Many stories, here and abroad, have been written and films made about the development of Levittown, Pennsylvania, even making national business history in the 1950s, as a planned housing development, larger than any built in post-war America. But none capture the heart of Levittown.  

It’s the concept of home and neighborhood, which also may explain why some families stayed a lifetime and why Marable remains the sole keeper of his hometown’s history. Ever the teacher, he said he hopes to help a new generation recapture “that loving feeling.” Seriously, he added.  

To learn more, go to Marable’s website: LevittownInternationallyKnownCommunitiesinc.net

Writer Pat Wandling is a Levittown resident and  host of WBCB radio’s daily talk show, Speak Your Piece, 1490am – 107.3fm,  Located in Levittown’s Magnolia Hill section, WBCB has been on the air since Dec. 8,1957.