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| ----- |  in town Older neighborhoods contained two-story frame houses and foursquares. Newer neighborhoods had bungalows, cape cod homes and prairie style homes. The streets were bordered by large shade trees. For the less affluent, there were small one-story houses, which were often converted from summer cottages into year-round residences. If you owned a shop or small business, you probably lived in an apartment above the store. Many families with larger homes occupied only the first floor, and rented out the second floor. After the war, the housing shortage prompted many owners of larger homes to divide them into apartments. Quite often, you shared your home with your extended family. It wasn't unusual for an elderly aunt or grandparent to live with you, or for related families to share a two-flat. | ||
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 older suburbs In the late 1800s, railroad and streetcar suburbs grew up along the rail and trolley lines that radiated out from the city center. They reached their peak in the 1920s. Early automobile suburbs arose between 1905 and 1945. These communities were located in areas without rail access, and were built with the automobile in mind. They featured paved streets, landscaping and sunny open areas, and were settled by car owners who didn't need to live near the rail lines. At first, residents lived in the modern bungalows that became popular after the turn of the century. Prairie style homes, cape cod homes and tudor homes were added later. In the 1930s, ranch homes and tract homes became popular. The American Bungalow | |||
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 in the city In the city, we lived in row houses and apartments. This was a world of brownstones, five-story walkups, fire escapes, front stoops and clotheslines draped between tall buildings. Many people didn't have a car, but this wasn't a problem, as there were plenty of trains and streetcars to take you where you needed to go. | ||
 after the war: the freeway suburb After the war, things began to change dramatically. Servicemen returning from overseas were getting married and settling down in record numbers. This created a housing shortage. The cities were full, so developers began to build new homes in the country. On the outskirts of town, they replaced farm fields with cul-de-sacs, sidewalks, small yards and rows of identical tract houses. When the new interstate highways linked these housing developments to the city, we had the newest type of suburb: the freeway suburb. It didn't matter if these subdivisions were miles away from the downtown area....they would become self-contained communities with stores and schools of their own. The booming postwar economy made it possible for most people to own a car, so transportation wasn't a problem. Between 1945 and 1951, the population of the suburbs doubled. Much of this growth took place in the new postwar freeway suburbs.  On Long Island, Levittown was the first major suburb of the postwar era. This subdivision was built by the firm of Levitt & Sons, and the first homes went on sale in 1947. A two-bedroom house sold for $7,900. The subdivision featured ball fields, swimming pools, streets uncluttered by utility poles, and no fences. Unfortunately, it also had covenants preventing blacks and Jews from buying homes there. Levittown was immensely popular. Levittown: An Ideal American Suburb Long Island History: Levittown At Fifty The House That Levitt Built |    the G.I. Bill When the war ended, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act made it easier for war veterans to buy homes. Also known as the G.I. Bill, this act insured lenders against loss, which resulted in lower interest rates and lower down-payments. Before the war, only 44 percent of Americans owned their own homes. The G.I. Bill helped raise this figure to 55 percent by 1950. 20 percent of all homes built in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s were funded by this program. | |||
| ----- | new plans, new features House plans underwent a transformation in the 1940s. attached garages In the old days, if you had a garage (and many people didn't), it was probably a detached building or converted barn added many years after the house was built. Generally, only a few of the newest suburban homes had attached garages To keep costs down after the war, new tract homes were built on very small lots. To make it possible for the houses to fit on the lots, they began to include attached garages. This new feature quickly became very popular. By 1950, 45 percent of all new homes came with an attached garage or carport. A garage was now considered a status symbol. the front porch vanishes Before the 1940s, people sat on their front porches and socialized with the neighbors. After the war, the front porch was no longer part of the modern floor plan. In many new homes, this spot was taken over by the attached garage. After all, who needs a front porch when you can stay inside and watch Uncle Miltie on TV? inside Open the front door of a modern house in the 1940s, and you'll see family rooms, breakfast nooks and an increase in the use of wall-to-wall carpeting. | ||
|  in the living room black rotary-dial telephones small cocktail bars elegant white sofas   Click here for more interior views of 1940s homes! electronics radio-phonograph consoles table-top radios floor model radios floor model TVs with folding doors  Bendix radio | |||
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in the kitchen
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 refrigerators & iceboxes Mechanical refrigerators for the home were introduced in the 1910s. The first freezer compartment was added in 1939. In the 1930s, the sale of refrigerators surpassed the sale of iceboxes for the first time. By 1940, half of all American homes had a refrigerator. The remainder continued to use their old-fashioned iceboxes, or kept their food cool in a spring house or root cellar. During the war, production of new appliances came to a halt. After the war, mass-production of refrigerators resumed and prices fell. By the late 1940s, nearly 75 percent of homes had a refrigerator. The History Of The Refrigerator Formica Company History Betty Crocker History Dear Betty: Letters To Betty Crocker decor metal canister sets chrome tables with formica tops white enamel surfaces chicken & rooster motifs pretty aprons  Betty Crocker The character of Betty Crocker made her debut in 1921. During the war, General Mills published Betty Crocker's Cook Book Of All-Purpose Baking, which was designed to help frugal wartime cooks plan their meals. Betty also published recipe sets and hosted her own radio show.  Formica The Formica company began operations in 1913, producing laminated electrical insulators and plastic gears for cars. In the 1930s, they branched out into decorative laminates for restaurants and homes. Demand for their laminated countertops and tabletops rose dramatically during the home construction boom of the late 1940s. gadgets metal cookie cutters flour sifter cake saver egg whisk potato masher canning supplies cookware & appliances Pyrex glass cookware Waring blender Pyrex glass coffeepot electric can opener Sunbeam Mixmaster Kromex Ware pots & pans electric roaster | |||
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