1952 - A City is Born - Levittown, Pennsylvania

[Music] the march of time [Music] today march of time is in levittown pennsylvania where a city is being born the prospective homeowners come from various sections of the united states each will be a part of a unique community being built today on what were spinach fields just a few weeks ago when leverton is completed as planned it will be a city of 60 000 people the 10th largest city in the state of pennsylvania many of the men who buy homes here will be working in america's newest industrial area just a few miles from here along the delaware river i beg your pardon sir would you mind telling me who you are and where you're from i'm david paul from atlantic city new jersey and would you tell me why you're moving here to levittown well i'm working in this area now and i've looked the houses over and i think it's a fine place to raise a family so i've decided to buy one very good sir in just a moment we'll take a careful look at this city which is in the process of being born today at the eastern extremity of the state of pennsylvania a remarkable construction project is transforming the face of the countryside the area below will within the next two years be the tenth largest city in the state of pennsylvania a busy community of seventy thousand people living in a city which was completely planned before the first house was built today almost one-fifth of levittown pennsylvania is already completed and occupied three thousand six hundred families are now making their homes in the new city which has been designed to accommodate the special needs of growing children levittown is situated on the pennsylvania railroad's main line and will soon be a local station stop [Music] levittown is 65 miles from new york city it lies just west of the delaware river 25 miles northeast of philadelphia the land on which this 20th century community is being constructed is gently rolling pennsylvania farmland this area in lower bucks county was first settled 300 years ago by william penn and his followers who raised their families in the strict tradition of the quaker church which is still a vital force in this region today before long farmed houses like these will be a rarity in this corner of eastern pennsylvania most of the old houses on the land within the boundaries of levittown will give way to new modern buildings this farmhouse is one of the few that will remain standing my name's john morrell i came here from philadelphia 39 years ago i bought this ground and built this house and buildings here and i made up my mind i was going to live here so i died mr levitt came along and wanted to buy the place i told him i could they could have the ground but i was going to keep the house my wife and i feels very well satisfied uh we got a new pork chop we got new television and we certainly enjoy it we're enjoying life and we're quite happy about it here we are and uh they uh had to have their own born down so we got a new garage and we're pleased with that too and everything is just hunky-dory farmer morelitties for this city of 70 000 people are being installed by the builders of levittown at their own expense this is the sewage works built when the project was first begun construction is about to begin on several of eighteen churches which will serve the people of levittown the city is donating the land on which these houses of worship will be built to the governing bodies of the churches themselves the new city which is today springing to life on the banks of the delaware was planned by the levitt brothers who also built levittown long island the younger brother alfred levitt is the architect responsible for the overall planning of the new community when my family began to conceive the city of levittown in bucks county pennsylvania we made up our minds not to duplicate one basic era that we find in all the other cities mainly that the individual occupant is lost in its bigness how we went about it was to plan small sections of the land put a circumferential drive around it give it a name that followed some plant like magnolia hill where mass plantings of magnolias would positively identify a pride in the occupants in magnolia hill the people who will move into magnolia hill will co-share a school in a swimming pool and a ballpark they'll be encouraged to have a ball club that will compete for medals and other honors many other clubs in this way we hope that the individual will not be the occupant of a big city levittown but rather an individual well known to his neighbors in magnolia hill a staff of 100 engineers is currently at work on the planning for sections of the new city which are still in the early stages of development but once work is begun progress is amazingly swept the building of a house in one day is shown during the next 45 seconds by stop motion photography [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] these are the 36 men who built this house [Music] another day another 40 houses this is one of four models which are now being built throughout levittown the complete price is ten thousand five hundred dollars the four models vary slightly in overall design but each has the same number of rooms two bedrooms a large living room part of which can be converted into a third bedroom kitchen bath and dining space and five closets [Music] each house has a fireplace centrally located every few weeks on allocation day prospective homeowners pick the site for their house as well as the model each house is definitely contracted for by a customer before construction begins each buyer has his or her own reasons for selecting a certain location rather than another this woman is intent on having a house on a street named butterfly lane her husband who prefers a different site finally gives him wanna give him what she wants that's all i think he wants this one right there that's right teddy 92 i never know houses by the name of the street before that's the way you're doing then at this stage of its growth leviton is beginning to look lived in a strong community spirit is developing i represent the welcoming committee of the levittown civic association i know you're just getting settled but i'd like to welcome you here on behalf of the community have you any problems that you've run into that i might be able to help you with that the newcomer quickly becomes accustomed to the quick pace in levittown i'll never stop off for you if you like oh they're always doing things like that around here goes on all the time did you get all your trees yet or is this the first one thank goodness all over it the levittown shopping center now under construction will cover 55 acres and will provide all levitt towners with the necessities of life and many of the luxuries but today there are no stores open for business in levittown [Music] the people who live in the new city now must travel to one of the nearby towns for supplies the usual choice is bristol only a mile away it sure is good of you to offer to take me to the store i don't know what we would have for supper tonight if you hadn't well i know how it is first night we were here we ate oatmeal and sweet pickles and milk we sure had plenty of milk today all of lower bucks county isn't enjoying an unprecedented boom some of the store keepers in bristol and neighboring towns never dreamed that one day business would be this good this is an artist's sketch of the john fitch school the first school building to go under construction in levittown there will be nine other elementary schools similar to this one and two high schools for the children of the new city [Music] [Applause] [Music] a bus picks them up every morning and takes them to schools nearby [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the great increase in the number of students has prompted a two-shift day at schools throughout the county all the schools in this corner of eastern pennsylvania are overcrowded and new students are arriving each day [Music] here mrs theodore jack brings her daughter susan to worcester school for her first day of class since the family moved to levittown from philadelphia for joseph roberts the school principal part of each day is taken up with greeting new students and their parents thank you mary hello mrs jack how you doing susan how are you okay sits down well welcome to bristol township and to levittown this is jack am i in the right place oh yes you're in the right place this is worcester institute the temporary location of the john fitch elementary school which is now under construction in down in levittown now i have some information here for you mrs jack which i think will help orient you into our school system thank you by the way what about the bus schedule well uh mrs jack the the bus will stop uh at your corner at 7 35 in the morning i'd like for you to introduce you to a susie's teacher now [Music] miss howard may i present mrs jack how do you do mrs and this is susan jackson hello susan how are you good i'd like to welcome you to our school and show you that we're helping the children as best we can i'd like an opportunity to visit with you at your home sometimes anytime you'd like to come we'll be very happy thank you all right thank you susan would you like to get right over here are you new here too now i've been here three days to serve the 3 600 families now living in levittown there are a number of doctors already in residence [Music] levittown is a family town the great majority of the homeowners have young children so there are many demands on the time of dr james ledger a pediatrician no ordinary town offers the residence the variety of services available to the homeowners in levittown here oscar boos who delivers frozen foods to the people's homes calls on a new resident by now oscar has so many customers that he doesn't really care if he makes another sale but he also has a secondary sales talk i called this afternoon to find if you might be interested we sell full-line frozen food we'll be servicing through this new section of weathertown on each friday i'm sorry but i already have a frozen food man well that's all right we understand there are a lot of fellows coming in to see you ladies but while i'm here i thought maybe i could uh talk a little bit about politics i happen to be democratic committeemen in this area the of the township and also a commissioner i'm sorry but my husband and i are both republicans well that's quite all right you see we're out hunting some good republicans because we feel we can convert them into good that'll be a pretty tough job well i really came here to sell you frozen food but uh we'll be back and see you later on i still see this afternoon bye within the past year the bristol trust company has grown into a large-scale enterprise within one year its deposits have increased by four and a half million dollars bank treasurer moyer does a considerable amount of his business today with young levittowners how are you doing i have your application approved for the new car you're buying there's your chexr all right thank you sir and incidentally congratulations on your new baby thank you very much mr moyer i've got to run along now pick up my wife's new zealand right bye thank you levittown already has its own police force here the patrolman is much more concerned with problems which relate to the rapid growth of the community patrolman templeton finds that lost dogs and children take up a fair amount of his time his name is either lavino levins can you look it up please what's your name marty ravens we have a levine 11 78 shepard lane well we'll try it okay that's the way it goes here in leathertown lost kids lost dogs a few murder violations but no crime [Music] today there are still no telephones in most of the homes in levittown so the customer visiting the neighbors has become universal throughout the new city but the domestic chores continue without interruption linda is already well adjusted to life in her new hometown come on in bill are going to be a lot of things you're going to have to explain to me ladies and gentlemen this is william levitt who heads the largest home building firm in the world bill all this must have taken an awful lot of doing well then creating this city presented a challenge unlike anything we ever encountered before wherever we built in the past we found local government experienced in meeting the problems of a modern community but here in bucks county pennsylvania we found local services on the level of 1900 was just like long island 50 years ago there was no water no sewers no highway department no adequate police department same for the fire department right down the line we had to start from scratch with absolutely nothing and everything had to be done at once we had to build houses for people living we had to build a water system and a sewer system we had to set up a police department put in roads direct street lights so that people could feel secure well at least you had a free hand in what you wanted to do not quite then you know ours is the only business in the world that has every single branch of government is a partner and i mean every branch federal state county and municipal well you know the worst was behind you yes we're on our way now but sometimes i wonder how we ever got this far what we've come out with is something new in city planning when we finish here which should be in another two years we'll have a city about the size let us say of atlantic city or galveston the generation which is being raised in this scientifically planned community is taking this new way of life in its stride or levertown pennsylvania is a prototype of a new kind of 20th century american living the fastest growing city in the country levittown already has a population of 12 hundred or rather twelve thousand six hundred and one time marches on [Music] the march of time brings you each week at this hour an authoritative report on the people the problems and the places which will make tomorrow's news and become a significant part of the history of our time this is westbrook van boris inviting you to join us again on this channel at the same hour next week when the editors of the march of time will present another chapter in the march of time television series you

Channel: 19king14 Film2Video Memories & Services

Views: 39,803

Keywords: Levittown, Pennsylvania, March of Time, News reel, 16mm film, 1952

Id: rnhzw3hu084

Length: 22min 46sec (1366 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 24 2020