By the end of 1946, 10 million men and women were discharged from the armed services and new family formation rose to a record 1.4 million per year. The need for new housing to accommodate them reached near-crisis proportions. The national housing agency estimated that five million new housing units were needed immediately and 12.5 million would be needed over the next decade.

Private developers jumped at the opportunity. Using pre-fabricated materials, "cookie-cutter" plans and standardized construction techniques to create "tract" housing developments, the developers sought to attract veterans--with their generous GI mortgage benefits--and middle class urban dwellers eager to enjoy the privacy and amenities of new, detached suburban homes.

The most aggressive and successful of the private developers was Levitt and Sons, who transformed potato farms on Long Island into the 17,000-home Levittown, creating the model for similar communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. By 1950, according to one estimate, Levitt was producing one four-room house every 16 minutes.

Nathan smith

Collage #3