Editing Levittown, New York (section)

== Place in American culture ==
[[File:Bageltown of Levittown, New York.jpg|thumb|right|Bagel Town of Levittown]]
As the first and one of the largest [[Tract housing|mass-produced suburbs]], Levittown quickly became a symbol of postwar suburbia. Although Levittown provided affordable houses in what many residents felt to be a congenial community, critics decried its homogeneity and blandness. Today, "Levittown" is used as a term to describe overly sanitized suburbs consisting largely of identical housing. Similarly, places have earned names like "Levittown-of-X" or "Levittown-on-the-X" as seen in Long Island's [[Bayville, New York|Bayville]] "Levittown on the Sound" and Fire Island's [[Dunewood]] "Levittown on the Bay." Oddly enough, although Levittown is remembered largely for its homogeneity, the majority of houses in Levittown have by now been so thoroughly expanded and modified by their owners that their original architectural form can be somewhat difficult to see; however, with diligent observation, several original examples can still be seen today.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} Levittown continues to hold a reputation of being an affordable, family-centered community.

Levittown has become so ingrained in American culture that the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in Washington has expressed interest in displaying an entire Levittown house. Bill Yeingst, a historian with Smithsonian's [[National Museum of American History]] Domestic Life Division,<ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/staff.cfm?key=12&staffkey=278
 |title       = NMAH &#124; William H. Yeingst
 |publisher   = americanhistory.si.edu
 |access-date  = October 8, 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418065050/http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/staff.cfm?key=12&staffkey=278
 |archive-date = April 18, 2009
 |df          = mdy-all
}}
</ref> said "An original ranch model would be ideal. We would like someone to donate their Levittown house, or we would like to find a donor to provide the funds so that we could secure a Levittown house."  He noted that "The stories played out in suburban Levittown are the stories of America. They are stories important to everyone."  Although "None of this is set in concrete," according to Yeingst, "the Levittown house would be dismantled at the site, transported to Washington and reconstructed. Then it would be exhibited along with other innovations in American home life."<ref>Briefly mentioned on Desperate Housewives on October 9, 2011.
{{cite news
|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DD1F3EF936A35752C1A96F948260
|title=LONG ISLAND JOURNAL – New York Times
|publisher=New York Times Company Inc.
|date=November 5, 1989
|access-date=October 8, 2008
|last=Ketcham
|first=Diane
}}
</ref>