You've Come a Long Way, Levittown

Through a conversation with long-time Levittowner Polly Dwyer, John Sutter learns about the many ways Levittown has been transformed -- and how it faces an uncertain future.

"It's not that the suburb is dead, but in an era of home foreclosures, environmental concerns and urban revival, some Americans are starting to turn their backs on the Levittown mold. These changes are beginning to show in Levittown, too, a place that still longs for the sense of community and purpose that it had at its inception six decades ago.

[...]Now, Levittown barely resembles its past. Nearly all of Levittown's homes - all of which started out as Cape Cods, with their box-like symmetry, or ranches, which were slightly more rectangular - have been altered almost beyond recognition. The homes have had their frames stretched, pulled, pumped and popped to the point that they look like Cubist-painting versions of their former selves, additions and alterations jutting out in every which way from the same starter models. Levittown's white-only façade is cracking, too."