Levittown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania (PA) 19054,19055,19056,19057,19058

Levittown

Bucks County, Pennsylvania

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Today Levittown consists of neighborhoods spead across 5 different zip codes in 3 different boroughs. The original Levittown, built in the 1950s, consisted of 40 "sections" with a total of 17,000 detached, single family residences.

Picture Window Paradise [1]

On Monday, June 23, 1952, John and Philomena Dougherty packed up their belongings, and with their two daughters in tow, drove from a government housing project in northeast Philadelphia to their new home in the suburbs. Their journey was not unusual. Between 1950 and 1960, twenty million Americans moved from cities to the suburbs. It was the largest internal migration in the country's history, outstripping many time over the legendary westward migration of the nineteenth century. What made the Doughertys' journey newsworthy – and, in retrospect, historic – was their objective: to be the first official residents in the new development of Levittown in Bucks County.

Historically Significant [2]

Levittown is a classic example of a historically significant post World War II surburban landscape. At the time of its creation, it represented a new approach to residential development, involving dependence on the automobile, affordable housing that could be quickly built to accommodate the booming post-war baby boom population, curving roads, shopping centers - not historic downtowns, and neighborhood recreational amenities like parks, pools and playgrounds. While many of the original homes of Levittown have been altered and expanded in the years since their construction in the 1940s and 1950s, the overall plan and layout of the community is still discernable.

The Original 40 “Sections” of Levittown

Other Neighborhoods in the Levittown Zip Codes

Beginnings [2]

"The brainchild of developer William J. Levitt, Levittown, Pennsylvania was the largest planned community constructed by a single builder in the United States. By the time it was completed in 1958, the development occupied over 5500 acres in lower Bucks County and included churches, schools, swimming pools, shopping centers and 17,311 single-family homes.

"To its 70,000-plus residents, Levittown represented the American Dream of homeownership. To many others, Levittown epitomized postwar suburbia -- a place often criticized but widely copied."

Names of each section, and names of all the streets within, respectively, share the same first letter. (i.e., all street names in Highland Park begin with the letter 'H'). Parts of some sections (Lakeside, Stonybrook) are located in Tullytown Borough. Levittown is served by five separate Zip Codes: 19054, 19055, 19056, 19057 and the non-delivery 19058.

  1. Miner, Curtis, Picture Window Paradise, in Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, Spring, 2002
  2. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide, www.phmc.state.pa.us, accessed May, 2023.
  3. State Museum of Pennsylvania

Nearby Towns: Bensalem Twp • Beverly City • Bristol Boro • Bristol Twp • Burlington City • Burlington Twp • Edgewater Park Twp • Falls Twp • Florence Twp • Hulmeville Boro • Langhorne Boro • Langhorne Manor Boro • Lower Makefield Twp • Middletown Twp • Morrisville Boro • Newtown Boro • Penndel Boro • Tullytown Boro • Yardley Boro •


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