What were the equivalent of parking lots before cars?

by IrritableGourmet
brtlby

Assuming the predecessor of cars are horses, then hitching posts alongside the road through town would be the equivalent of parking lots.

Source: I live in an Amish area and observe that every Amish house has a hitching post and businesses that Amish frequent typically have a hitching post, usually a little ways off from the parking lot.