Building Blocks: A Look At Long Island’s Growth And Development

When our ancestors came over (most of them) from Europe, they came young, ambitious, and in search of the "American Dream" and for those that settled on Long Island, it quickly became clear that this pristine, "primal" paradise was not only what dreams, but also what "fairytales" were made of.

In fact, Long Island is abundantly rich in history and in historically fascinating facts. Among these, that not only are we home to some of the most well known names of our nation but to some of its most famous and infamous homes.

· The first Levitt home hit the market in 1947

· Long Island is historically known for being the birth center of suburbia with its planned communities that were completed with the construction of Levittown.

· Long Island has attracted some of the most well known and admired architects and builders including: Stanford White, John Russell Pope, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Gwathmey, Robert A.m. Stern, Norman Jafee, and Abraham Levitt & Sons

· Long Island is home to the largest house in New York and also to the smallest; and between the grandeur of Otto Kahn's 72- room Oheka estate (now more commonly known as Oheka Castle) and the one-room Hempstead Town bay shacks are almost 75,000 single-family residences embracing Long Island’s culture and history through the years.