Main Street Ready-Made: The New Deal Community of Greendale, Wisconsin

by Arnold R. Alanen, Joseph A. Eden

The dream of the suburb is an old one in America. For more than a century, city dwellers have sought to escape the crowding and pollution of industrial centers for the quiet streets and green spaces on their fringes. In the 1930s, that dream inspired the largest migration of Americans in the twentieth century and led to the creation of Greendale, Wisconsin, one of three planned communities initially begun to resettle the rural poor hit hard by the Great Depression. This idea, though, quickly developed into a plan to revitalize cities and stabilize farming communities around the nation. The result was three “greenbelt towns” built from scratch, expressly for working-class families and within easy commuting distance of urban employment. Greendale, completed in 1938, was consciously designed as a midwestern town in both its physical character and social organization, where ordinary citizens could live in a safe, attractive, economical community that was in harmony with the surrounding farmland. “Main Street Ready-Made” examines Greendale as an outgrowth of public policy, an experiment in social engineering, and an organic community that eventually evolved to embrace a huge shopping mall, condominiums, and expensive homes while still preserving much of the architecture and ambiance of the original village. A snapshot of 1930s idealism and ingenuity, “Main Street Ready-Made” makes a significant contribution to the history of cities, suburbs, and social planning in mid-century America.

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[evie sellers · Rating 4 out of 5]

lol i read this for my history capstone project but it was neat! greendale is near and dear to me and i've loved learning about the ins and outs of its super cool and unique (albeit not always sunny) history as i've worked on my capstone project for my history certificate. yay history!!! yay research!!!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched chronological history of Greendale, Wisconsin, one of three "greenbelt" communities created in the late-30s under FDR's New Deal to showcase a new type of suburban community that was close enough to a metropolitan area (in this case, Milwaukee) to offer low income families affordable housing, but far enough away to preserve a green, agricultural environment. It was an experiment in government-lead cooperative housing that also provided much-needed jobs for contractors during the Depression. The authors began by sketching the theoretical reasoning behind the greenbelt program, including discussions of Lewis Mumford and Rexford Tugwell, followed by a description of the planning and land purchasing, which often required the government to stretch the truth when telling farmers how they would be using their purchased land. While a noble experiment, the final community suffered from being so far from Milwaukee that residents had trouble commuting and connecting with the city in a way that would make it a satellite community. Since the housing was for low-income families, many couples only qualified if the wife didn't work, which was also a bit of a burden. Eventually, the metropolitan area (traffic, higher income housing, a mall) would encroach to the point where Greendale would lose much of its garden village identity, even as it retained some of its greenbelt charm (nice parks for walking, safe streets, a communal residential layout, etc.)

By World War II, the government had more problems to handle than worrying about funding and running greenbelt communities like Greendale (the only other two were Greenbelt, Maryland, and Greenhills, Ohio), so residents found themselves having to pull together to break away from federal control, which was becoming lax. By the time of the post-war economic boom, the government was ready to sell the community; however, residents didn't want to be swallowed up by Milwaukee, nor did they want to sell to private investors. Most residents wanted to own their own property. Eventually, the private market would move in and Milwaukee would inch closer to the village, with the addition of utilities, services, and Milwaukee county parks to Greendale. By the '60s, ironically, the town was beginning to be populated by higher income residents (compared to surrounding Milwaukee) and by the '80s, the largest mall complex in Wisconsin (Southridge) would be built on Greendale's doorstep.

It's a fascinating little nugget of history about a village that remains part of the Milwaukee metro area, but somewhat insular, retaining its "Greendale" identity, even if a pale comparison to what greenbelt designers intended in the '30s. Many of the homes, although greatly updated, reflect the original planning of the community from 1936. The village town hall still stands in the quaint colonial style that was a popular nostalgic throwback in the 1930s.

The writers included a nice balance of research and oral history (with interviews from original residents), as well as a great survey of residents comparing the older Village Center to the newer, more higher income Overlook area. It's a worthy read for anyone interested in Milwaukee history, city planning, or the New Deal.