#skywatchfriday - a walk through the neighborhood

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 I love walking through my neighborhood.  


I live in the quintessential suburb.  I live in an original Levitt house in a neighborhood designed by Levitt and Sons.

You may be familiar with the Levitt story.  Bill Levitt is credited with the creation of the modern suburb. In the late 1940’s, as veterans were returning from the war and starting families, Levitt purchased huge areas of what was then known as Island Trees, NY for his planned community.  Winding lanes of mass-produced houses, with parks, pools and shopping centers interspersed for residents’ convenience.  Eventually his development spread into parts of neighboring Wantagh and Hicksville, and the original development was renamed Levittown.

I live in a Levitt house in Hicksville, just a few blocks from the house where Billy Joel grew up.  


It’s a great place for a walk.  I love looking at the houses, how they all started out as virtually identical, but how each house has been expanded and altered …


Here are original Levitt houses








And my neighborhood now 


















I like the roof deck on that last house.



The skies above this neighborhood are a bit … crowded… because of our proximity to La Guardia and JFK …






When Levitt bought the land, most of it was potato fields, but since then …




I love that second photo, the clouds are just amazing,


And I was a tad bit jealous of this neighbor’s Halloween decorations.


You know what I think about dragons …


Anyhow, I’m really enjoying this neighborhood.

#skywatchfriday




Comments

  1. AlanaOctober 13, 2023 at 8:48 AM

    I enjoyed seeing the changes to the houses from the original - some have really changed. I was hoping to get back to Long Island this year but it isn't going to happen. We have a lot left to explore. We have what are called EJ Houses in our area (especially Endicott, West Endicott and Johnson City) built by the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Co. (major shoe manufacturer back in the day) which workers could purchase at cost and make small weekly payments on. It's not a style, though; they changed over the years as they were built to what was in style at the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Liz A.October 13, 2023 at 2:35 PM

    We have a similar town in our area: Lakewood. I believe most of it was built up in the '50s. Not original like your area. The houses were built for returning servicemen, and now many of those houses have been upgraded and renovated and modernized.

    ReplyDelete
  3. peppylady (Dora)October 13, 2023 at 6:57 PM

    I recall house like that. The first house I recall was a brick rancher. Which was my parents.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JocelynOctober 13, 2023 at 9:57 PM

    Sweet transformations.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yogi♪♪♪October 14, 2023 at 1:03 PM

    I've read about Levitt's subdivisions. Apparently it didn't take long for people to customize the appearance. It looks like a really nice neighborhood.

    ReplyDelete

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