Townsend Talks: Making Long Island: A History of Growth and the American Dream

Based on the new book of the same name, "Making Long Island: A History of Growth & the American Dream" tells the fascinating story of the development of Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties) between 1920 and 1980. Between the 1920s and 1950s, Long Island served as a primary site of the pursuit of the American dream, as it was affordable home ownership for the middle class that most compellingly expressed the nation’s core mythology. Beginning in the 1960s, however, that dream began to dissolve, as the postwar economic engine ran out of steam and as Long Island became as much urban as suburban. Despite all its current economic and social challenges, a new and improved American dream appears to be emerging on Long Island, and the place unarguably remains one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Lawrence R. Samuel is a Miami- and New York City-based cultural historian and a Long Island native. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota and was a Smithsonian Institution Fellow. His previous books include The End of the Innocence: The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair (Syracuse University Press, 2007), New York City 1964: A Cultural History (McFarland, 2014), Tudor City: Manhattan’s Historic Residential Enclave (The History Press, 2019), and Dead on Arrival in Manhattan: Stories of Unnatural Demise from the Past Century (The History Press, 2021).

Townsend Talks is a monthly lecture series in which speakers from Long Island and around the country offer fascinating insights into history, decorative arts, architecture, horticulture, and other fields that connect with our site and our mission. Lectures are $20 for museum members, $25 for nonmembers, and $10 for students (with ID) unless otherwise noted. The program begins in the Visitors’ Center, and light refreshments are included.