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| The "Lost" Unit - The Budgeteer Rental |
The Pennsylvania Levittown was strategically located near major manufacturing centers, many of which held important U.S. Defense Contracts (such as U.S. Steel). Knowing this, Bill Levitt offered a rental-only unit called the "Budgeteer" as one of the three original Pennsylvania units. The unit was designed with the idea that defense company employees would move around as contracts come and go. Keep in mind, defense contracts were a fairly new thing. (Think: reaction to the relative unpreparedness of the U.S. when entering World War II--we didn't want that to happen again.) In reality, defense contractors didn't move around as much as anticipated, so renting was fairly unattractive. The other reason for the unit's failure was simply a matter of poor pricing. Renters had to put down $165 in security and rent was $65 a month. It was actually cheaper to buy a Levittowner (with a modest down-payment and $60 a month). Why rent when you can buy? Everyone agreed, and only model units of the Budgeteer were ever constructed, and none were ever rented.
A Promotional Film About Levittown
Courtesy of YouTube, I found an old newsreel feature about the Pennsylvania Levittown. Enjoy.
For a period of time, the Budgeteer sample home served as the Bristol Twp. police unit in Levittown. The other "lost" model is the original 1952 Country Clubber that was offered at the outset. By the time Levitt and Sons received approval to build in the Middletown Twp. part of Levittown in 1954, where the Country Clubbers were to be built, the Country Clubber had been completely redesigned and reconfigured twice. The final version of the Country Clubber (1955-1957 models) bear almost no resemblance to the original. The only apparent similarities are the locations of the living area and kitchen, and the "L"-shape of the basic house. The 1954 model, of which only about half a dozen were built, was a straight, long 1-1/2-story house. It had a "garden room" with large window to the read and into the hallway inside the house from which it was accessed.
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In what section or intersection was the Police station Budgeteer house located ?
ReplyDeletei saw your question about the location of the budgeteer sample and the police station im very interested in an answer to that question too. my dad recalled once that the police station was located at 5 points.
ReplyDeleteThe police station was in the Budgeteer sample home at the Levitt Exhibit Center on U.S. 13 with the other model homes. It was not a production home in a particular section.
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