Monday, May 6, 2013

1945 – 1949: Sentimental Journey

 
 
The United States experienced phenomenal economic growth after World War II. The automobile industry was partly responsible for this; the number of automobiles produced quadrupled each year between 1946 and 1955. This increase in car ownership and mobility was accompanied by a housing boom. Returning servicemen seeking home ownership were spurred on by 1944’s GI bill and easily affordable mortgages. Prosperity prompted the need for new cost-effective housing: planned developments complete with single-family houses, paved streets, sidewalks, parks and other amenities. Housing developments in New Hampshire, primarily located in the seacoast and southern parts of the state, enticed Americans – and the larger families of the postwar baby boom – out of inner cities into new suburbs and their version of the American Dream. 

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