Month: April 2018

Works Cited:

[1] Hamilton, Alexander, Albert Bushnell Hart, Bruce Rogers, and Pforzheimer Bruce Rogers Collection. Hamilton’s Itinerarium: being a narrative of a journey from Annapolis, Maryland, through Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, from May to September. Saint Louis, Missouri: Printed only for private distribution by William K. Bixby, 1907. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/08002374/. (Accessed April 08, 2018.)

[2] Aron, Cindy S. Working At Play: A History of Vacations in the United States. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc., 1991. Accessed March 3, 2018. https://www.amazon.com/Working-At-Play-History-Vacations/dp/0195142349. Page 18.

[3] Harrington, Elaine. “BOOKS AND LIBRARIES IN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S OAK PARK DAYS.” In American Architects and Their Books, 18401915, edited by Hafertepe Kenneth and O’Gorman James F., 231-56. University of Massachusetts Press, 2007. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.trincoll.edu/stable/j.ctt5vk766.14. Page 231-256.

[4] “Frank Lloyd Wright.” Design Quarterly, no. 74/75 (1969): 13-15. doi:10.2307/4047362. Page 13.

[5] Hanks, David. “A Frank Lloyd Wright Dining Chair.” Bulletin (St. Louis Art Museum) 14, no. 4 (1978): 135-38. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.trincoll.edu/stable/40716009. Page 135.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Living Room from the Francis W. Little House: Windows and Paneling | Frank Lloyd Wright | 1972.60.1 | Work of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed April 07, 2018. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1972.60.1/.

[8] “Frank Lloyd Wright – Tour the House Today – Pennsylvania.” Fallingwater. Accessed April 06, 2018. https://www.fallingwater.org/.

[9] “Taliesin West.” Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Accessed April 08, 2018. http://franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/.

[10] ROSENFELD, LUCY D., and MARINA HARRISON. “FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S “USONIA”: A Planned Community, Pleasantville.” In Architecture Walks: The Best Outings Near New York City, 54-58. Rutgers University Press, 2010. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.trincoll.edu/stable/j.ctt1bmzn49.21. Page 54.

[11] Donoian, John, Dennis Doordan, and Sarah Smith. “”A Magnificent Adventure”: An Interview with Mrs. Sarah (Melvyn) Maxwell Smith about the Smith House by Frank Lloyd Wright.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 39, no. 4 (1986): 7-10. doi:10.2307/1424790. Page 7.

[12] “Frank Lloyd Wright.” Design Quarterly, no. 74/75 (1969): 13-15. doi:10.2307/4047362. Page 14-15.

[13] “The History of Vacation Rentals – Infographic.” Rentals United. February 19, 2018. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://rentalsunited.com/blog/history-of-vacation-rentals-infographic/.

[14] Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl. “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Testament.” College Art Journal 18, no. 4 (1959): 319-29. doi:10.2307/774026. Page 319.

[15] Ibid. Page 320.

[16] Quinan, Jack. “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum: A Historian’s Report.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 52, no. 4 (1993): 466-82. doi:10.2307/990869. Page 469.

[17] Ibid. Page 466.

[18] Donoian, John, Dennis Doordan, and Sarah Smith. “”A Magnificent Adventure”: An Interview with Mrs. Sarah (Melvyn) Maxwell Smith about the Smith House by Frank Lloyd Wright.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 39, no. 4 (1986): 7-10. doi:10.2307/1424790. Page 10.

[19] “Frank Lloyd Wright House.” South Kohala Management. April 08, 2018. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.southkohala.com/vacation-rentals/frank-lloyd-wright-house.

[20] Bureau, US Census. “Data.” Historical Census of Housing Tables: Vacation Homes. January 01, 1970. Accessed March 03, 2018. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/coh-vacation.html.

[21] “Airbnb Fast Facts.” Airbnb. Accessed March 4 , 2018. https://press.atairbnb.com/app/uploads/2017/08/4-Million-Listings-Announcement-1.pdf.

[22] “Vacation and Investment Home Sales: A Breakdown for 2017.” Economists Outlook. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/2017/04/26/vacation-and-investment-home-sales-a-breakdown-for-2017/.

[23] Ro, Lauren. “Lakefront Frank Lloyd Wright House with Original Furniture Returns to Market.” Curbed. August 18, 2016. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.curbed.com/2016/8/18/12539882/frank-lloyd-wright-cooke-house-virginia-home-for-sale.

[24] Tardiff, Sara. “Celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s Birthday By Staying In One Of His Houses.” ELLE Decor. July 15, 2017. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/travel/g9984630/frank-lloyd-wright-vacation-houses/.

[25] Ragatz, Richard Lee. 1970. “Vacation Homes in the Northeastern United States: Seasonlity in Population Distribution.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 60, no. 3: 447-455. Academic Search Premier, EBSCO host (accessed March 4, 2018).

 

I chose to represent both the history of the vacation home and Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs because there was more information on the two subjects combined. Although the topics are not directly related, they both incorporate the importance of the vacation home and how it relates to American ideals. I felt that without knowing the history of the vacation home and more recent statistics, information about Wright would not be as meaningful. I thought I would start the timeline with the first vacation recorded because it is vital to know the background on the subject before learning about more current information regarding vacations.

Prior to doing this project, I did not know Frank Lloyd Wright, and I have learned so much about him. He really made an impact on design and architecture in America and beyond and it is fascinating that many of his homes have turned into houses that are open to the public or available to rent. I chose not to focus on one of his homes, but rather include many of his creations, such as Fallingwater, Usonia, and Taliesin West, in order to compare and contrast and learn more about him.

It was interesting to make the connection between Airbnb (which I had researched for my listicle) and how many of Wright’s homes are listed on the website. Wright was clearly such an influential architect and designer and it is so fascinating that his homes are available to rent, especially on such an accessible platform such as Airbnb.

At times, I found it hard to make the timeline flow between information regarding the history of the vacation home which was broader and material on Wright’s homes which was very specific. For certain timeline points, I talked about the history of the vacation home and then would write a sentence or two at the end about how the history relates to Wright in one way or another. I incorporated YouTube videos, which are very useful tools, songs from Spotify relating to vacation, GIF’s, and many images (specifically of Wright’s homes) to give the reader more information without including too many words on the page. I used a total of 20 sources, 10 academic and 10 trusted media sources. Of these 20 sources, 5 were taken from my listicle.

The listicle was really a jumpstart to this project, but after doing the timeline I feel much more confident on this subject. It is such a fascinating part to our culture that I do not think is analyzed enough. I am looking forward to using the information I already have and expanding this project even further and completing my final paper!

Reasoning:

No city is exactly the same. They may all have qualities that resemble one another but they are never identical. A city in the North is different than a city in the South and an American city is different than an European City. American cities are not that old but have a ton of history packed in.

Atlanta is the place I have grown up my whole life but much of its history has been hidden from me. Like many part of America, people would rather ignore the painful events that happened in the past. Atlanta very obviously does this.  This is why I chose to represent Atlanta as a city that has had a painful history.

Georgia was a colony founded with the idea that it would be a new opportunity for the prisoners in England. In order for this dream to become a reality. the Americans had to take the land for the Cherokee Indians. They did not ask for the Americans to come and yet here they were faced with losing their home. This is not something that only happened in Georgia. It occured all over the US with the Indian Removal Act. This along with the slavery that was occuring in the country at the time is an example of the superiority Americans feel they have other minorities.

Atlanta went through many different periods and yet the suppression of certain individuals has been a common theme. Atlanta, just like many of other southern cities, has an evil past. There is a painful history. Instead of learning from its mistakes or owning their past pitfalls, the city attempts to ignore the  past. This is an issue that has led to the problems that we are facing today. In order to understand where we are today we need to understand what happened in the past.

Atlanta likes to make that claim that it is a city “Too Busy To Hate”. This is not true. Atlanta is a city that would rather act like the past did not happen. I chose to represent in Atlanta this way because many of the events I chose are things I never learned about. They are events that everyone should know in order to understand the true issues that we are facing today.

We are facing many issues today that were never dealt with many years ago. In order to learn and understand how to solve the problem, we need to understand how we got here. This is why it is important to look at the past. In order for Atlanta to actually become a city “Too Busy To Hate”, they need to understand the issues that are embedded in the society.

I wanted to show the more painful history of Atlanta because it is a history that many other American Southern cities went through. The best way to understand today and learn what not to do is by looking at the past to understand our issues at hand.

Bibliography:

[1] Brooks, Robert Preston. History of Georgia. Nabu Press, 2010, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QA_VAAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=history of georgia&ots=a-ZZe8fE73&sig=u9K5YCNJRPL7KHl5tFAt_F0bLcc#v=onepage&q=atlanta&f=false.

[2] REED, WALLACE PUTNAM. HISTORY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA: with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its… Prominent Men and Pioneers (Classic Reprint). FORGOTTEN BOOKS, 2016, History of Atlanta, Georgia: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of …

[3] Garrett, Franklin M., and Harold H. Martin. Atlanta and Environs: a Chronicle of Its People and Events. University of Georgia Press, 2011, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CF49PqgO33AC&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=atlanta and environs&ots=anpBWldI48&sig=WxPGESJEqiA59Www0oURVEanvkk#v=onepage&q=atlanta and environs&f=false.

[4] “Atlanta.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/atlanta.

[5] Garrett, Franklin M., and Harold H. Martin. Atlanta and Environs: a Chronicle of Its People and Events. University of Georgia Press, 2011, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CF49PqgO33AC&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=atlanta and environs&ots=anpBWldI48&sig=WxPGESJEqiA59Www0oURVEanvkk#v=onepage&q=atlanta and environs&f=false.

[6] Bates, Christopher G. The Early Republic and Antebellum America. Sharpe//Online Reference, 2010, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pWLxBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA106&dq=atlanta 1850s&ots=xKTdxHutpW&sig=m6Zl5QffiTaNi1Kucy6foKMuNVU#v=onepage&q=atlanta 1850s&f=false.

[7] Leigh, Phil. “Who Burned Atlanta?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Nov. 2014, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/who-burned-atlanta/?mtrref=www.google.com&assetType=opinion&login=email&auth=login-email.

[8] Link, William A. Atlanta, Cradle of the New South: Race and Remembering in the Civil Wars Aftermath. University of North Carolina Press, 2015, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2aDGVkZGP9sC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=atlanta 1850s&ots=FfctGumdFX&sig=ljnNK87fHrN4pDd1Z-T9dbttZxU#v=onepage&q=1868&f=false.

[9] Jewell, Joseph O. Race, Social Reform, and the Making of a Middle Class: the American Missionary Association and Black Atlanta, 1870-1900. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=S3td82ttfZUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=A Short History of Black Atlanta&ots=PH_nSx7rTC&sig=7a_Te_k6-8Tk9kapievjzgEgHgg#v=onepage&q=1950&f=false.

[10] Watts, Eugene J. “The Police in Atlanta, 1890-1905.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 39, no. 2, 1973, pp. 165–182. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2205612.

[11] Grem, Darren E. “Sam Jones, Sam Hose, and the Theology of Racial Violence.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly, vol. 90, no. 1, 2006, pp. 35–61. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40584885.

[12] Burns, Rebecca. Rage in the Gate City the Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. University of Georgia Press, 2009, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aLoFBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=1906 atlanta&ots=cp9uGNfbf5&sig=FTct-LJQNcdkEqlK04oZFIV5FOw#v=onepage&q=1906 atlanta&f=false.

[13] “Segregation.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/segregation.

[14 ] Dixon, Thomas. “The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan.” 2000, doi:10.4324/9781315700113.

[15] Goetz, Edward G. New Deal Ruins: Race, Economic Justice, and Public Housing Policy. Cornell Univ. Press, 2013, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IqudDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=atlanta public housing&ots=b0FE8jAY-S&sig=f8eZ2-SkOTdHpEbk5tMgWrnteLw#v=onepage&q=atlanta&f=false.

[16] Higgins, Jack. Without Mercy. Thorndike Press, 2005.

[17] Morris, Aldon D. The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement Black Communities Organizing for Change. The Free Press, 1986, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7vyHY9DWcu8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=civil rights atlanta&ots=NRtxfkAIcY&sig=nCvRmn_Ry5lSQTRNuFeowwsB9BY#v=onepage&q=atlanta&f=false.

[18] Dyson, Michael Eric. April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jrs Death and How It Changed America. Basic Civitas Books, 2008, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=C6te0-BLyy0C&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=martin luther king jr assassination&ots=8oz5XbAulj&sig=KGrZFmzxR71QnAodkfXYfvU1LjQ#v=onepage&q=atlanta&f=false.

[19] Abney, F. Glenn, and John D. Hutcheson. “Race, Representation, and Trust: Changes in Attitudes After the Election of a Black Mayor.” The Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 1, 1981, pp. 91–101. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2748320.

[20] Quinn, David, et al. Mindhunter. Dark Horse Comics, 2001.

[21] Goetz, Edward G. New Deal Ruins: Race, Economic Justice, and Public Housing Policy. Cornell Univ. Press, 2013, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IqudDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=atlanta public housing&ots=b0FE8jAY-S&sig=f8eZ2-SkOTdHpEbk5tMgWrnteLw#v=onepage&q=atlanta&f=false.

 

 

AMST 335

Professor Gieseking

Corey Wise

Research Project Statement

In putting together the Listicle for the concept of the New England Village, it suddenly dawned on me that my hometown of Wayland, Massachusetts, has all of the elements of the concept of the New England Village.  This realization excited me and spurred me to learn about my hometown in greater depth.  I already knew some facts about Wayland that I learned over the years, having never moved from our home there since in-utero.  However, I learned so many more interesting facts about my hometown.  Wayland is truly a microcosm for the concept of the New England Village.

I wanted to show and describe a little bit of Wayland’s pre-Colonial and Colonial history in my timeline.  This is the era that I learned the most about in my excellent history classes in Wayland, so I felt the most comfortable researching and re-learning it.  The first settlement of Sudbury Plantation was established in 1638 in what is now the town of Wayland.  Residents of Watertown wanted more land and less crowding and were granted this land east of the Sudbury River.  Sudbury Plantation separated into Sudbury and East Sudbury in 1780, with the Sudbury River acting as their border.  The decision to separate was largely due to the difficulties of citizens in the western part of Sudbury to cross the river to get to church and town meeting, especially in the spring.  Until the Industrial and Transportation Revolutions of the mid-1800s, Wayland was a sleepy, inland farming community.

The next main time period I was trying to display about Wayland, was their industrial period.  Initially, I did not know that much about this period of Wayland’s history, so it was fascinating to learn about the industrial and manufacturing history of my hometown.  It was also interesting to learn about how long the north-south divide in town has been prevalent.  In the 1830’s, the Bent brothers, James and William, expanded their small shoe shop into a manufacturing powerhouse.  Numerous shoe factories were built in the southern part of Wayland, which was renamed Cochituate at this time.  Modern amenities, such as streetlights and streetcars, were brought into Cochituate, as this southern part of town prospered.  There is also a separate post office for Cochituate residents to this day, while North Wayland remained a quiet, farming community.  Eventually, the building of the railroad through North Wayland helped this area greatly, allowing farmers to bring their produce into Boston to sell to a larger market.  This helped northern Wayland to catch up to the rapidly advancing southern Wayland.

The last time period I tried to display in my timeline, was suburban Wayland.  This was another time period in Wayland’s history that I did not know that much about, although I had familiarity with the school system, since I had attended Wayland schools my entire life before coming to Trinity.  This time period saw an absolute explosion in population after World War II, due in part to 3 events:  1) the Baby Boom, 2) the construction of Rte 128 (I-95), and 3) the construction of the Mass Pike.  According to the U.S. census, the population of Wayland surged 137% in the 1950s from 4407 to 10, 444.  To accommodate the school-aged children, 3 new elementary schools were built, as well as a new Middle School and state-of-the-art, Walter Gropius-designed mid-century modern High School.  Wayland had the foresight to preserve some of its farming heritage through preservation of conservation land in conjunction with housing development, so that now 25% of Wayland land is conservation land.

Little did I realize when I first produced my Listicle for the concept of the New England Village that I was basically writing about my hometown of Wayland, Massachusetts.  It was fascinating to learn about all of the history that I’ve been surrounded with literally my entire life.  The history that I’ve learned about the town explains so many of the details of Wayland that I have always wondered about, but never knew until now.  So many of the towns in New England share this similar history, however it is also interesting to note that some have also struggled, largely left behind recently when the infrastructure of the interstate system drove opportunity to other New England villages.  I am proud that so many of the trends in American life occurred on a smaller scale within my small hometown.

 

Timeline Bibliography

“About Us: Town Hall.” Wayland Massachusetts. January 01, 2014. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.wayland.ma.us/about-us.

 

Capriani, Christine. “Days Numbered for Midcentury-Modern School by The Architects Collaborative.” Architectural Record. February 25, 2011. Accessed April 9, 2018. https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/2120-days-numbered-for-midcentury-modern-school-by-the-architects-collaborative?v=preview.

 

Carter, Allison. “A City Divided: The Building of the Mass Turnpike Extension in Newton (Pt. 1).” Newton Patch. September 13, 2011. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/a-city-divided-the-building-of-the-mass-turnpike-exted81c1af1db.

 

Dame, Jonathan. “Eversource to Begin Rail Trail Work in Weston and Wayland.” The Metro West Daily News. August 1, 2017. Accessed April 9, 2018. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20170801/eversource-to-begin-rail-trail-work-in-weston-and-wayland.

 

Dudley Pond. “History of the Pond.” Dudley Pond Association. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.dudleypond.org/history-of-the-pond.html.

 

Eastern Roads. “Historic Overview.” Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/mass-pike/.

 

Emery, Helen Fitch. The Puritan Village Evolves: A History of the Town of Wayland, Massachusetts. 1st ed. Phoenix Pub, 1981.

 

The Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston. “1950s–1975: Impact of Rte 128 & Rte 495.” Historic Shift Explicit to Implicit Policies Affecting Housing Segregation in Eastern Massachusetts. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1950s-1975-Suburbs.html.

 

Foster, David R., Brian Donahue, David Kittredge, Glenn Motzkin, Brian Hall, Billie Turner, and Elizabeth Chilton. “New England’s Forest Landscape: Ecological Legacies and Conservation Patterns Shaped by Agrarian History.” 2008.

 

Hogan, Dan, and Will Engel. “Cold War Wayland: Raytheon.” Wayland High School History Project. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://whshistoryproject.org/1950s/missiles.html.

 

Islamic Center of Boston. “About IBC.” Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland, Massachusetts. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.icbwayland.org/.

 

Labaree, Benjamin. “New England Town Meeting.” The American Archivist 25, no. 2 (1962): 165-72. doi:10.17723/aarc.25.2.a41x928626p71t16.

 

Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. “Hopestill Bent Tavern.” MACRIS Details. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=WAY.116.

 

Ogletree, Andrew, and Ben Peterson. “Old Meets New: Dudley Pond.” Wayland High School History Project: Main Page. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://whshistoryproject.org/1950s/pond.html.

 

Raytheon. “Site Background.” Raytheon. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://raytheon.erm.com/home.htm.

 

Reich, Robert B. “Secession of the Successful.” The New York Times. January 20, 1991. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/20/magazine/secession-of-the-successful.html?pagewanted=all.

 

Renschler, Catherine. “Hopestill Bent.” Catherines Corner. February 23, 2015. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://catherinescorner.net/?p=107.

 

Richard, Bay. “Cars, Trucks in Big Parade on New Pike.” The Boston Daily Globe (Boston), May 16, 1957.

 

Rotker, Drew, and Jarrett Lerner. “Cold War Wayland: The Nike Missile Site.” Wayland High School History Project. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://whshistoryproject.org/1950s/missiles.html.

 

“Route 128: Boston’s Road to Segregation.” Patricia A. Morse, Others, and Massachusetts State Advisory Committee to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. January 1975. Boston, Massachusetts.

 

Strum, Beckie. “A Feast for the Eyes: 4 Pilgrim-era Mansions on the Market.” Mansion Global. November 24, 2016. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/46856-a-feast-for-the-eyes-4-pilgrim-era-mansions-on-the-market.

 

Temple Shir Tikva. “Shir Tikva: About.” The Temple Shir Tikva. Accessed April 9, 2018. http://www.shirtikva.org/about.

 

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.

 

Unitarian Universalist Community. “First Parish: Our History.” The First Parish in Wayland. Accessed April 9, 2018. https://www.uuwayland.org/.

 

The Wayland Depot. “History.” The Wayland Depot. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://thewaylanddepot.com/about-us/history/.

 

Wayland Historical Society. “TOWN HISTORY: A SHORT HISTORY OF WAYLAND, MA.” Wayland Museum. Accessed April 9, 2018. https://www.waylandmuseum.org/history-of-wayland/.

 

Wayland Public Schools Foundation. Lt. Col. Martin W. Joyce Papers. Accessed April 09, 2018. https://www.ltcoljoycepapers.org/.

 

Wolfson, Evelyn, and Dick Hoyt. “‘A to Z’: ‘S’ Is for ‘Shoe Industry’.” Wicked Local. January 28, 2010. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://www.wickedlocal.com/x1090822482/A-to-Z-S-is-for-Shoe-Industry.

 

Zarracina, Javier. “How the Post Road Wrote New England’s History.” Boston.com. Accessed April 09, 2018. http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/graphics/10_17_10_postroad/.

 

 

WORKS CITED
[1] Chauncey, George. 1994. Gay New York. New York: Basic Books.

Sources

[1] Richard Harris, and Peter J. Larkham, eds. 1999. Changing Suburbs: Foundation, Form and Function. Planning, History and Environment Series. New York, NY: Routledge 6

[2] Bruce Lesh. n.d. “Post-War Suburbanization: Homogenization or the American Dream?” Baltimore County Public Schools. http://www.umbc.edu/che/tahlessons/pdf/Post-War_Suburbanization_Homogenization(PrinterFriendly).pdf. 3

[3] Margaret Lundrigan Ferrer, and Tova Navarra. 1997. Levittown: The First 50 Years. United States of America: Arcadia Publishing. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yh0nM4sIH14C&oi=fnd&pg=PA6&dq=%22island+trees%22+%22levittown%22&ots=DF0u7jdKVV&sig=H19RY647YASUM5OBpTHwlpPuIK4#v=onepage&q=%22island%20trees%22%20%22levittown%22&f=false. 7

[4] Margaret Lundrigan Ferrer, and Tova Navarra. 1997. Levittown: The First 50 Years. United States of America: Arcadia Publishing. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yh0nM4sIH14C&oi=fnd&pg=PA6&dq=%22island+trees%22+%22levittown%22&ots=DF0u7jdKVV&sig=H19RY647YASUM5OBpTHwlpPuIK4#v=onepage&q=%22island%20trees%22%20%22levittown%22&f=false 8

[5] Peter Bacon Hales. n.d. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb.” University of Illinois at Chicago. http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/faculty/pcatapano/US2/US%20Documents/Levittown%20Documents%20of%20an%20Ideal%20American%20Suburb.pdf. 3

[6] Kenneth T. Jackson. 1985. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. http://www.csun.edu/~rdavids/350fall08/350readings/Jackson_Federal_Subsidy_and_Suburban_Dream.pdf. 204

[7] Weingroff, R F. 1996. “FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY ACT OF 1956: CREATING THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM.” Federal Highway Administration 60 (1). https://trid.trb.org/view/469739.

[8] Alfred S. Levitt. 1951. “A Community Builder Looks At Community Planning.” Journal of the American Institute of Planners 17 (2): 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944365108979318. 98

[9] Richard Longstreth. 2010. “The Levitts, Mass-Produced Houses, and Community Planning in the Midtwentieth Century.” In Second Suburbs, edited by Dianne Harris, 123–74. University of Pittsburgh Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt83jhq9.11. 123

[10] Chad M. Kimmel. n.d. “Community in History: Levittown and the Decline of a Postwar American Dream.” Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. http://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/footnotes/nov03/fn8.html.

[11] Dianne Suzette Harris. 2010. Second Suburb: Levittown, Pennsylvania. University of Pittsburgh Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Rbfy5gikEpwC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22levittown%22+history&ots=OXLLNeEdZb&sig=Awn24rDlCWtwdwWu_fosNLw–k8#v=onepage&q=%22levittown%22%20history&f=false. 7

[12] Richard Garber, and Nicole Robertson. 2006. “The Pleated Cape From the Mass-Standardization of Levittown to Mass Customization Today.” ACADIA, 426–39. 428

[13] Alfred S. Levitt. 1951. “A Community Builder Looks At Community Planning.” Journal of the American Institute of Planners 17 (2): 80–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944365108979318. 80

[14] “Levittown.” 2016. .edu. Digital History. 2016. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3427.

[15] Peter Bacon Hales. n.d. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb.” University of Illinois at Chicago. http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/faculty/pcatapano/US2/US%20Documents/Levittown%20Documents%20of%20an%20Ideal%20American%20Suburb.pdf. 5

[16] Levittown Public Library. n.d. “Levittown History.” .org. Levittown Public Library. https://www.levittownpl.org/research-history.

[17] Kathryn T. Flannery. 2007. “Levittown Breeds Anarchists! Film at 11.” In Placing the Academy, edited by Jennifer Sinor and Rona Kaufman, 109–24. University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgq72.10. 120

[18] Barbara M. Kelly. 1993. “Little Boxes, Big Ideas.” Design Quarterly 158: 26–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/4091292. 28-29

[19] Barbara M. Kelly. 1993. “Little Boxes, Big Ideas.” Design Quarterly 158: 26–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/4091292. 28

[20] James Leach, and Lee Wilson, eds. 2014. Subversion, Conversion, Development: Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange and the Politics of Design. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=E42AAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=design+of+%22levittown%22&ots=fiSItE4bGw&sig=UJJP7OU73hAsdZqvZ9fy2BfYEhU#v=onepage&q=remolding&f=false. 11

[21] David Kushner. 2009. Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America’s Legendary Suburb. New York, NY: Walker & Company. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2KqsKUk36ZkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=evittown:+Two+Families,+One+Tycoon,+and+the+Fight+for+Civil+Rights+in+America%E2%80%99s+Legendary+Suburb.+&ots=4BwPcSVSHO&sig=ZjjJp7DZ–faMHRzS4BdFDt1bpU#v=onepage&q=levittown&f=false. Xvi

[22] Barbara M. Kelly. n.d. “The Houses of Levittown in the Context of Postwar American Culture.” West Babylon, New York. https://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/suburbs/Kelly.pdf. 5

[23] MARTIN DINES. 2015. “Metaburbia: The Evolving Suburb in Contemporary Fiction.” In Making Suburbia, edited by John Archer, Katherine Solomonson, and Paul J. P. Sandul, 81–90. University of Minnesota Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt17t77s8.9. 84

[24] New York Times. 1994. “How William Levitt Helped to Fulfill the American Dream.” New York Times, February 6, 1994.

[25] Richard Rothstein. 2015. “The Racial Achievement Gap, Segregated Schools, and Segregated Neighborhoods: A Constitutional Insult.” Economic Policy Institute, Race and Soical Problems, 7 (1): 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-014-9134-1. 27

[26] James Wolfinger. 2012. “‘The American Dream—For All Americans’ Race, Politics, and the Campaign to Desegregate Levittown.” Journal of Urban History 38 (3): 430–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144212445452.

[27] Bernadette Hanlon. 2010. “Once the American Dream.” In Once the American Dream: Inner-Ring Suburbs of the Metropolitan United States, 1–11. Temple University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14btdf6.6. 4

[28] Susan Saegert. 1980. “Masculine Cities and Feminine Suburbs: Polarized Ideas, Contradictory Realities.” Signs, The University of Chicago Press, 5 (3): S96–S111. S102

[29] Charles E. Redfield. 1951. “The Impact of Levittown on Local Government.” Journal of the American Institute of Planners 17 (3): 130–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944365108979326. 136

[30] “Billy Joel Biography.” n.d. .com. Biography. https://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859.

[31] “Little Boxes.” n.d. .com. Genius. https://genius.com/Malvina-reynolds-little-boxes-lyrics.

Reasoning

            Levittown is often credited as America’s first suburbs, a picturesque town symbolizing the American Dream at the time. Before World War II, housing and buying a house was very expensive and mainly only rich, upper-middle class white families could afford to own nice a home all to themselves. This led to many middle, working, and lower class families to be stuck in crowded houses or apartments in urban centers like New York City. After World War II, however, the economy began to thrive and Americans sequentially took advantage of the new economic freedoms, like being able to afford a home of their own. The reason why I choose to present Levittown the way I did was to show how William Levitt capitalized on an untouched market, the US housing disaster, and how he was a beneficiary to the timely arrival of the GI Bill, which helped veterans (specifically white ones) get mortgages – making it easier for them to pay for houses. The Federal Highway Act was another piece of legislation put in place around the time of Levitt, allowing thousands of Americans to more easily commute from their suburban neighborhoods into and out of the urban centers where they were employed. All of these dynamics helped change the face of American suburbs and also how Americans perceived the their livelihood, their community, family life, family ideals, gender roles, gender norms, racism, classism, individualism and the American Dream. Amongst all this radical change, however, Levittown acted as a stabling force for many white Americans looking for the social bubble suburbs ultimately provided. In the wake of the Second World War, the American Dream became the ability to buy and own a house, made possible by the new and innovative federal legislation. Levitt understood how to capitalize on the circumstances at hand and seized the opportunity to produce affordable housing, showing his innovate thinking in a time where so many would end up following his model.

I really wanted to display the layouts of the houses and how they were constructed because of the apparent gender roles we can synthesize from them. Leaving the attic or second floor unfinished, having no garage, or basement gives men the opportunity to display their manhood in subtle ways they may have even been unaware to. Men are often perceived as the logical candidate to be able to handle manual work or renovation projects, yet this is a tool that could really be used for men to show off their masculinity. On the other hand, these masculine gender roles also carve out a woman’s role was also perceived, as the men take the part of doing all the “dirty” work of home renovation and women get the “clean” work in this renovation process. For example, women are expected to be the ones to provide guidance with interior decor, not men. Levitt made and planned the Levittown houses with these gender constructs in mind, accepting that the interior of houses would likely be renovation to one’s own liking, not the outside. Levitt wanted the outside of his suburban neighborhoods to all be the same. Levitt did not want any individualization to distinguish homes from one another, which became a personal brand for Levitt to produce these massive neighborhoods, filled with cookie-cutter homes. Residents who would renovate their homes provided distinction throughout the community as a symbol of class or monetary wealth. This too also makes competitions for which person has the best house, creating divides within certain classes. The construction of Levittown also brought up a various amount of other problems, such as racism. Levitt built Levittown as a new community, meant to exclude African Americans or any other force that would put his artificial utopia at risk. Personally, I felt it was important to highlight the overt racism Levitt certainly carried and his building of Levittown, and the obvious marginalization of African Americans, is proof of it. By highlighting that I wanted to enlighten those who were not aware about this reality of early-American suburbs so as to portray a more complete reflection on the realities of the time. Levittown was a community of shelter and oppressive tendencies, and when they did not approve of someone or something, they were place in a constrained, social box, removed from their suburban dream.