One of Levittown's Village Green shopping strips. The Levitt & Sons Company strived to provide everything the "Levittowner" would need, but fell short in regard to shopping options. Each Village Green contained -at the most- twenty shops and there were no "anchor" department stores. This oversight was quickly exploited by two other developers, who built LEVITTOWN CENTER. 

Photo from http://www.longislandmemories.org

LEVITTOWN CENTER was completed in three sections, which opened for business between June 1950 and August 1955. The complex consisted of a single level of retail, with some stores having basement sales areas. The J.W. Mays anchor, on the right, also included an upper level and basement. The parking area surrounding the shopping hub could accommodate 2,500 autos.

LEVITTOWN CENTER STORES 1950:

A & P supermarket / Crawford Clothes / Cream Puff Bakery / Empire Decorators Loft / Franklin National Bank / Grand Union supermarket / Great Western Meat Company / Hefros Sport Shop / Meenan Oil Company / Smilen Brothers / Stork Klub children's Shop / Spotless Cleaners, Incorporated / Turnpike Liquors / Whelan Drugs (with luncheonette)   

LEVITTOWN CENTER STORES 1956:

J.W. MAYS / J.C. PENNEY / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 / A & P supermarket / GRAND UNION supermarket / W.T. GRANT (with luncheonette) / Crawford Clothes / Cream Puff Bakery / Empire Decorators Loft / Father & Son Shoes / Franklin National Bank / Glenda Lyn lingerie / Great Western Mean Company / Haber's Hardware / Har-Rob Bootery / Hefrois Toys / Holly Shops ladies' wear / Kiddie Corner babysitting service / Lobel's Youth Center / Loft Candies / Low's men's shop / Meenan Oil Company / Miles Shoes / Pergament Paint & Wallpaper / Peter Pan Bakery / Singer Sewing Center / Smilen Brothers / Spotless Cleaners / Stork Klub children's shop / Thom McAn Shoes / Times Square Store / Turnpike Liquors / Whelan Drugs (with luncheonette) / Wilber Roger's ladies' shop / Winfred's Coffee Shop / Woods Jewelers 

The Grants chain opened a LEVITTOWN CENTER store in June 1951. It was among the first Grants built as part of a so-called park and shop development.

Drawing from W.T. Grant Company Annual Report 1951

The original arch rival of LEVITTOWN CENTER was built less than a mile east. The first stores in CENTER ISLAND SHOPPING PARK were dedicated in September 1950. This strip complex housed twenty stores, with majors being Food Fair, Kresge's and Sears Catalog & Appliance. Over the years, the complex would be known as CENTER ISLAND SHOPPING PLAZA and then LEVITTOWN PLAZA.

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