Behind the lost streets of the south side of Lafayette Square Parade Place...did it actually even exist? 1 Nicholson Place, c. 1945 Julius Pitzman is known for designing most of the famous private streets in St. Louis, starting with Benton Place in Lafayette Square. But he also surveyed large portions of St. Louis, leaving his mark on a wide swath of the city, and not just in exclusive neighborhoods. Pitzman worked on Lafayette Square over the course of several decades, even into the early 20th century. However, much of his surveying and laying out of additional semi-private streets on the south side of the park off Lafayette Avenue has been forgotten. That's due to the devastation caused by the construction of Interstate 44 in the second half of the 20th century. While not true private streets, they maintained restrictions on building types and uses similar to their more restrictive counterparts.