monroevillehistorical.org

Gaden City's Civic Center

Brightbeery Drive in Garden City, 2006

Garden City, 1955

In April 1955, Wanda Jennings, Mrs. America of 1954, was on hand to greet visitors at the opening of the latest development in fully–planned community living – Garden City in Monroeville, Pa. This 600-acre development, would be built partly on farmland owned by the Graham family near the center of Monroeville.  Designed and constructed by the Sampson-Miller Associated Companies, it would offer 1500 3 and 4-bedroom homes at moderate prices.

With its “flower-named” streets (Laurel, Azelea, Blackberry, etc.) laid out on contour-hugging curves, the community would include a civic center, designed by landscape architect and city planner Jennings F. Stright.  The center would contain an elementary school, a shopping center, a church, a fire department, a swimming pool, and a building for professional offices. Adjoining the civic center would be a large park area with playgrounds and tennis courts.

The modest brick, ranch style houses typically offered more than a 1000 square feet of living space that included a finished basement and an integral garage.  Home buyers could choose from one of six basic designs developed by Pittsburgh Architect Richard H. Benn.  Floor plans ranged all the way from Model A, a modest 3-bedroom ranch house that promised basic housing at an affordable price, (while boasting of “extra space for an all-purpose room” in the basement) to Model F, the most luxurious model: a large split-level ranch with an integral two-car garage. 

Garden City was followed by other developments in a spurt of growth that was to quickly transform Monroeville into a modern, middle-class suburb.