Private place facts for kids
Imagine a special kind of neighborhood where the streets and parks are owned by the people who live there. These are called private places. Instead of the city owning and taking care of these areas, the residents do. They often hire private companies for services like street cleaning or security.
This idea became very popular in St. Louis, Missouri. A smart planner named Julius Pitzman came up with the concept around 1868. He wanted to help homeowners protect their property and keep their neighborhoods looking nice. This was before modern zoning laws existed. Over 50 years, Pitzman designed 47 of these unique communities.
The very first private place was Lucas Place, built in 1851. It doesn't exist in its original form today. But the idea really took off with Benton Place in 1868. This neighborhood had 12 houses and is still much the same. Another famous one was Vandeventer Place, opened in 1870. Most of it has been redeveloped, but its original east gate was moved to Forest Park.
By the 1920s, the idea of private places spread to areas outside the city, like Ladue. Developers like Meier and Comfort helped build these new communities.
These private neighborhoods are a bit like condominiums or homeowners associations. In 1982, the St. Louis area had over 427 groups managing these private places. While some are fancy, many different kinds of neighborhoods have been set up this way.
Private Places in St. Louis City
Many private places were built right within the city of St. Louis. Here are some well-known examples:
- Clifton Heights (1885)
- Westmoreland Place and Portland Place (1888) - The gates for Portland Place were designed by Theodore Link.
- Compton Heights (1889)
- Lewis Place (1890)
- Washington Terrace (1892)
- Hortense Place (1900)
- Kingsbury Place (1902) - Its gates were designed by Thomas P. Barnett.
- Lenox Place (1903)
- Parkview Place (1905) - This was the last private place designed by Julius Pitzman.
Private Places in St. Louis County
The idea of private places also spread to the county surrounding St. Louis. Here are some examples found there:
- Brentmoor Park (Clayton)
- Carrswold (Clayton)
- Lake Forest (Richmond Heights)
- Hampton Park (Richmond Heights)
- Scarsdale (Richmond Heights)
- Fair Oaks (Ladue)
- Dromara (Ladue)
- La Hacienda (Ladue)
- Briarcliff (Ladue)
- Picardy Lane (Ladue)
- Chevy Chase (Olivette)
Images for kids
-
Hortense Place
-
Kingsbury Place
-
Portland Place
-
Westmoreland Place
-
Brentmoor Park
-
Carrswold
-
Dromara
-
Fair Oaks
 | Dorothy Vaughan |
 | Charles Henry Turner |
 | Hildrus Poindexter |
 | Henry Cecil McBay |
