FILM / VIDEO

Building the American Dream: Levittown, NY

Directed by Stuart Bird/ 1994 / 60 minutes

Thursday June 14, 2007
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. (Bring your lunch!) and
5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
Nashville Civic Design Center
138 Second Avenue North Suite 106

Building the American Dream chronicles New York real estate developer William Levitt's postwar construction of affordable housing for returning WWII veterans and their families, thereby establishing the prototype for modern suburbia. Tracing the period from 1945 to the present day, the film features rare archival footage and photos, an interview with Levitt, and the reminiscences of numerous Levittown residents (including singer Billy Joel). It shows how the federal government, banks, and builders like Levitt cooperated in the early postwar years to finance and build affordable housing. It also reveals how a policy of racial discrimination prevented blacks from buying the homes, as well as tracing the subsequent collapse of Levitt's construction empire. The result is a nostalgic but revealing look at the birth of the American suburb and its present-day legacy.

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