My parents were able to afford to buy me a small set when I was a kid in the early 1960s. I remember using the platform piece to build little cityscapes, just as you did. They took over prime place from the wagon of wooden Playskool blocks.

I wrote a story a long ways back about coming home one day from junior high school and discovering that Mom has given the Legos away to a younger cousin because she deemed me too old for blocks. It was a sad day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now I can tell people what they can buy me for Christmas!
https://medium.com/the-memoirist/mom-let-go-of-my-legos-e99809e85e27