City Scapes: Between Lake and Mountains, the Country's Smallest Largest City

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, April 26, 2011, by Rob Bear

Welcome to CityScapes, a column in which we explore some of the nation's oft-overlooked cities and towns: their local history and real estate offerings. Have a suggestion? Do let us know.

Burlington might be the largest city in the state of Vermont, but that's not saying much when it comes to population. Some 42,000 people live in Burlington, and the city is the economic and cultural hub of the state and has been for the past 200 years. Founded in 1775 as three log huts beside Lake Champlain, Burlington evolved into a center for trade, and a gateway to the markets of the East Coast for trappers and loggers plying their trades in the northern wilderness. The expansion of the railroad only improved Burlington's standing as the premier city between Montreal and Boston, and as the city's wealth grew so too did the high-brow tastes of its residents. Famed architect H.H. Richardson completed an imposing library for the University of Vermont in 1885. In 1923, the venerable New York firm of McKim, Mead, and White were commissioned to design the City Hall (above), and by '41 had built three more major structures in town.

? The ease of railway access, beauty of Lake Champlain, and temperate climate transformed Burlington into a ritzy summer getaway from the stifling heat of Boston and New York. With the influx of fashionable folks came the building of extravagant summer homes in the style of Newport, but with a slightly more rustic, mountain-influenced feel. The main house on the 435-acre estate known as Grosse Pointe (above), just south of Burlington on Lake Champlain, was built at the turn of the century from local granite and served as the summer home for a wealthy family from Grosse Point, Mich. Comprising 11 bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, and five fireplaces over three floors, it measures 10,000-square feet and was last sold in the summer of 2006 for $8.4M. Now let's take a look at some local listings with slightly more affordable price tags.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET NOW:

? Listed for $2M, this lakeside retreat is located in Shelbourne, about a half hour from downtown Burlington, but offers over an acre of waterfront land coupled with an attractive Adirondack-style house. Facing west, the house enjoys sparkling sunsets over the Lake, along with four bedrooms, four baths, radiant heating, a dock, and two moorings.

? Back in Burlington proper, there are several newer condominiums available for sale near downtown, but this one wins out with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a unique-for-the-building duplex layout. Plus, unlike most American cities, living on the sixth floor is damn near the highest you can get in Burlington, where the tallest building is an eleven-story public housing project and most of the housing stock is single-family homes. This spacious, lake-view condo rings in at $799K.

? For under $500K, there's plenty of well-kept history to be had in Burlington. Take this 1926 Colonial in the city's Hill Section neighborhood. The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath house might not be massive at 1,900 square feet, but it's packed with historical charm, including original hardwood floors, beautiful woodworking, and broad porches, all for $419K.

· Vermont Valhalla [Forbes]
· 357 Ordway Shore Road [Coldwell Banker]
· 40 College Street [Coldwell Banker]
· 240 Loomis Street [Zillow]

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City Scapes: Sixty Years On, Revisiting the First True American Suburb

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, April 11, 2011, by Rob Bear

Welcome to CityScapes, a column in which we explore some of the nation's oft-overlooked cities and towns: their local history and real estate offerings. Have a suggestion? Do let us know.

From 1947 to 1951, the development firm of Levitt & Sons constructed the massive development of similar Cape Cod-style homes that would become known as Levittown, N.Y. While not America's first suburb—that honor is usually bestowed on the NYC neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights—Levittown was among the first in the wave of homogeneous developments that swept the nation following the Second World War. Built to meet demand from servicemen returning from the war flush with "G.I. loans," the first batch of 2,000 homes sold out before construction had even commenced, which compelled Levitt to build an additional 4,000, all arranged around serpentine streets to maximize buildable acreage. For efficiency, an abandoned rail line was reopened to ship in lumber and zoning regulations were altered to allow for concrete slab construction. By July 1948, Levitt & Sons were turning out an astounding 30 houses per day. Though marketed as the "new form of American living," Levittown wasn't fit for all its future residents.

? So this is what a typical Levittown block looked like back in the '50s, a row of identically sloped roofs interrupted only by the occasional dormer. That homogeneity carried over to the tenants, too, as a discriminatory lease clause forbade non-whites from renting in the community. Contemporary critics honed in on the racist lease policy and uninspiring, sterile architecture, but people still poured into the newly minted community. In 1949, the developer transitioned to selling rather than renting, and sold off these new "ranches" for $7,990 a piece.

? Despite the homogeneous origins, the Levitt houses have evolved since their construction. Thanks to additions from the subsequent owners, the town now boasts a surprisingly wide range of architectural styles, most based on the original structure. Maureen Hare (above) told the New York Times that she and her husband had expanded their house into a Victorian-style spread almost twice as large as the original "ranch." This sort of rampant remodeling has led to wildly variable pricing for the formerly set-priced homes.

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET NOW:

? Of the more than 17,000 houses constructed by Levitt & Sons in the '40s and '50s, this 1948 four bedroom is one of the least significantly altered. Though it could use some help with the staging, the Mets-loving owner is asking $299K.

? On the next rung up on the alteration ladder, this $490K "ranch" has had a garage tacked on to the main structure. A swimming pool has been added, too, but are these improvements worth an almost $200K price jump?

? How does $7,990 become $925K? Just ask the owners of this overgrown Levitt. It has been revamped with new—though not necessarily stylish—fittings, but doesn't have a swimming pool. Still, the idea that the diminutive original framing is hiding somewhere inside this imposing facade is intriguing.

· Levittown Historical Society | History [official site]
· Levittown Through the Years [NYT]
· 49 Balsam Lane [Trulia]
· 179 Swan Lane [Realty Connect USA]
· Levittown [Elliman]

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