A private place is a self-governing

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

whose common areas (e.g. streets) are owned by the residents, and whose services are provided by the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

. The history of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and its near suburbs is significant in the development of private places. Most were laid out by Prussian-born surveyor and planner

Julius Pitzman Julius Pitzman (1837–1923) was a Prussian-born American surveyor and city planner best known for his development of the private, gated neighborhoods in St. Louis, MissouriPorter, E. F. "Historic: Preservationists Move Toward Quiet Victory", ''St ...

, who conceived the idea around 1868 as a way for residential landowners to control real estate speculation and maintain property standards, in an era before the protections of

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

. Pitzman designed 47 of these developments over a 50-year period. The first of these, Lucas Place, dates from 1851 and no longer exists as such. But the growth of these developments began in earnest with Benton Place, in 1868, a 12-house development adjacent to

Lafayette Square, St. Louis Lafayette Square is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, which is bounded on the north by Chouteau Avenue, on the south by Interstate 44, on the east by Truman Parkway, and on the west by South Jefferson Avenue. It surrounds Lafayette Park (''s ...

, and is in more-or-less original condition today. Vandeventer Place, opened in 1870 and included a house design by

H.H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. Vandeventer Place has been replaced by urban development, with the exception of the east gate, which was removed to

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

. In the 1920s, the idea was extended west into the county, particularly

Ladue Ladue is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,989. Ladue has the highest median household income of any city in Missouri with a population over 1,000. Ge ...

, by developers such as

Meier and Comfort Meier and Comfort (originally called Hawke and Comfort) was a real estate development firm active in the 1920s in the St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis suburbs of Clayton, Missouri, Clayton and Ladue, Missouri, Ladue, Missouri. The firm was the fir ...

. These privately controlled single-family housing communities in the midst of the city are legally organized somewhat similarly to

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

s or

homeowners association A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either ''ipso jure'' in a building ...

s. In 1982, the St. Louis metropolitan area had more than 427 street associations administering private places. Although often associated with high-end communities, neighborhoods of various socio-economic natures have been structured as private places.

Private places in the City of St. Louis

* Clifton Heights (1885) * Westmoreland Place and adjacent Portland Place (1888) - Portland gates designed by

Theodore Link Theodore C. Link, FAIA, (March 17, 1850 – November 12, 1923) was a German-born American architect and newspaper publisher. He designed buildings for the 1904 World's Fair, Louisiana State University, and the Mississippi State Capitol. Early ...

Compton Heights Compton Heights is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is bordered by Interstate 44 to the north, Nebraska Avenue to the east, Shenandoah Avenue to the south, and Grand Boulevard to the west. Compton Hill Reservoir Park, home to the landmar ...

(1889) * Lewis Place (1890) * Washington Terrace (1892) * Hortense Place (1900) *

Kingsbury Place Kingsbury Place is a private place neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri that was founded in 1902. The land had been surveyed by Julius Pitzman, surveyor and planner, who had been the Chief Engineer for Forest Park and who was considered "the fa ...

(1902) - the gates #3, #7, and #11, designed by

Thomas P. Barnett Thomas P. Barnett (February 11, 1870 – September 23, 1929), also known professionally as Tom Barnett and Tom P. Barnett, was an American architect and painter from St. Louis, Missouri. Barnett was nationally recognized for both his work in ar ...

* Lenox Place (1903) * Parkview Place (1905), Pitzman's final development File:Hortense Place.jpg, Hortense Place File:Kingsbury Place.jpg, Kingsbury Place File:Portland Place.jpg, Portland Place File:Westmoreland Place.jpg, Westmoreland Place

Private places in St. Louis County

*Brentmoor Park ( Clayton) *Carrswold (Clayton) *Lake Forest ( Richmond Heights) *Hampton Park (Richmond Heights) *Scarsdale (Richmond Heights) * Fair Oaks (

) *Dromara (Ladue) *La Hacienda (Ladue) *Briarcliff (Ladue) * Picardy Lane (Ladue) *Chevy Chase ( Olivette) File:Brentmoor Park.jpg, Brentmoor Park File:Carrswold.jpg, Carrswold File:Dromara.jpg, Dromara File:Fair Oaks Estates.jpg, Fair Oaks

References

{{reflist

External links

Online history of Lucas Place

Property law in the United States Gated communities in Missouri History of St. Louis