Your Most Cherished Place in Your City/Town

[El Feo]

All of us have at least one - the place(s) or business(es) in our town that we can point to and say, "Now this...this is something nobody else has." It might be a renowned historic site, or a well-known architectural icon, a local business that's been there forever, or even a favorite local bar that means home to you. It might be beautiful, or kitschy, or just plain ugly, but it's yours, and nuts if it doesn't make you smile when you see it. It might be old, or very very new. Best of all, it might be different for different folks from the same place.

Bring it on: what's your most cherished place in your city/town?

Some of you have seen it before, but one of the my favorites from my hometown of Louisville, Ky., is the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, smack in the middle of downtown. The company built it as a celebration of their return to Louisville from an ill-considered move to an isolated plant in (*shudder*) southern Indiana:

 

[JivecitySTL]

Forest Park in St. Louis is a true gem:

 

[BKM]

I don't have a photo handy, but the neatest thing in Vacaville is our downtown park, Andrews Park. It has a public plaza, grass, trees, a creekwalk, a waterfall, and soon, hopefully, a great restaurant.

I also really like the street near my house.

Buck Avenue is a beautiful, tree-lined street with flower gardens, a row of palms, and a variety of Victorian, craftsman style, and modern homes. What's special about it is how well the street works as a whole.

 

[Dan]

When I'm back in Buffalo, it's either the bohemian Elmwood Avenue strip, or the gritty Buffalo River waterfront, with the old grain mills and abandoned factories.

In Denver, it's a little peninsula in Washington Park that functioned as an illegal off-leash dog park. Snotty neighborhood, but a wonderful sense of community was created when strangers gathered after work hours to let their dogs play.

In New Mexico, I had several cherished spots, none of them pictured in any of the tour guides. The end of the pavement on Dripping Springs Road, high in the Organ Mountains; the little-known Box Canyon Dam (a gathering that I was at ended up being included as a demo video on the late, lamented BeOS); a big pile of dirt where Roberta, a grad student from Albuquerque (long story) and I used to sit and watch the sun set; and the bar at the Kentucky Club in Cuidad Juarez probably top my list.

No such spot in Orlando yet. Closest thing is probably the off-leash area at Baldwin Lake Park.

 

[IPlan]

Favorite place

It seems that every town I have worked in I have tended to find a nice park bench in town to sit at during my lunch. I can just sit and relax, and watch people come and go. I should note that the bench has to be in the shade and not right up on the sidewalk.

I also really like to walk through the old parts of towns just to see the older buildings etc.

 

[nerudite]

Los Angeles -- the hill above my parents' house on Mulholland has amazing views of the Valley. But the place I like the most is the little town of Topanga, tucked in Topanga Canyon halfway between the beach and Woodland HIlls. It's a little bohemian community (lots of granola mamas) clinging to the little river at the bottom of the canyon. It's feels so rural that you would never know that Malibu/Pacific Pallisades is sitting on one end of canyon and the sprawling West Valley on the other. A little slice of heaven.

Davis, CA -- the special things about Davis in my opinion were their awesome greenbelts. I could throw on my rollerblades and go for miles without ever having to wait at a light or cross a major street. The greenbelt and bike path system is truly amazing. My favorite place though was the back porch of one of my apartments. I lived in this awesome mixed use development downtown. I lived above a contractor's office, between Mr. B's, Cafe Roma, and Soga's restaurant. I woke up smelling good coffee and went to bed smelling garlic. If you could judge the world on smell alone, it was like living in Italy.

Portland, OR -- Powell Butte Nature Park . This dormant volcano turned nature park is one of the most amazing places. You can hike for hours on some days and maybe run into only a few people. Of course there will always be Powell's Books and any number of microbreweries to list, and any of another dozen places to hang out and people watch (Hawthorne, Belmont, NW District, etc).

Oak Harbor -- I used to live less than a mile from a public boat launch on West Beach Road. From the beach you can see the Olympic Mountains, the San Juans, and on clear nights, the lights of Victoria. It was one of the hardest things to leave when I moved to Portland.

Edmonton -- I'm still kind of looking for that "special place". The Legislative grounds are very cool... nice and serene. And it's right in the river valley. I think my favorite place so far is a walking trail between Laurier Park and Hawrelak Park. You walk along the river valley in a mixed forest, most of the time along the North Saskatchewan River. You'd never know that you were in the City. In the Fall and Spring when it's chilly, there isn't anyone around and you have the hiking trails all to yourself.

 

[Cardinal]

I suppose it would depend on who you were speaking to. There are many people who might suggest that our new downtown lakefront park is the city's 'special place.' To others it might be the 1903 Birge Fountain - which is why people get so pissed when the college kids vandalize it. Other might talk about the flowing well, an artesian spring south of the city where people still go to fill jugs of drinking water. The new Culver's is really popular with some folks. It is a shame to think of all of the sites that might have made the list, but are gone, mostly as a decision of the city to tear them down - the old city hall, Old Main, the stone mill or the east side school. As much as we look back with regret to what was lost, though, there are still those who want to tear down more.

 

[statler]

Hmm. This is tough...can I pick three?

#1 - The Esplanade:

#2 - The Park At Post Office Square:

(That is the building I work in, in the background)

#3 - The Arnold Arboretum:

 

[Mastiff]

Nothing unique...

This town is a wonderful place, but I wouldn't say it has a feature all its own. So... I pick a place dear to my heart right outside of town, and just a wonderful experience. Therepudic and the beauty of nature together... and, from time to time, nude skibunnies!

McCredie Hot Springs:

(Hint: Neither of the people in the pic are me)

 

[Planderella]

There are lots of cool places, niches and such in and throughout the New Orleans area that are off the beaten tourist path that I cherish. But what I probably cherish the most is the downtown Mississippi River front, particularly the moonwalk across from Jackson Square. There is an incredible view of the river where you can watch the maritime industry at work and the Crescent City Connection bridge.

http://www.cyburbia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=485

 

[Cardinal]

Yeah, McCredie is a nice soak. Not anywhere near as good as Bagby, though.

 

[Chet]

To others it might be the 1903 Birge Fountain - which is why people get so pissed when the college kids vandalize it.

For the record, I only swam in the Birge fountain - no vandalizing except for the thorns I took home in my legs...

 

[NHPlanner]

Eagle Square, Downtowm Concord, NH...

White Park, Concord, NH...

Sorry...this one's big...

 

[El Feo]

Another gem recently added to my hometown, the Louisville Waterfront Park:

http://www.louisvillewaterfront.com/
http://www.louisvillewaterfront.com/more pics.htm

 

[Mastiff]

Yeah, McCredie is a nice soak. Not anywhere near as good as Bagby, though.

Bagby isn't a few miles from me, though...

 

[LouisvilleSlugger]

El Feo: have you been to the Slugger Field Ballpark yet? it's a great facility. I think it was ranked the best minor league ballpark last year. there are two restaurants that anchor the facility as well. and a huge statue of Pewee Reese out front....

 

[Yodan731]

My favorite place in Buffalo is kind of strange, but hey I'm a strange person.

Anyway it is the window of a chiropractor's office on Delaware ave. in downtown. The inside of the window has a hanging neon chiropractor sign, but engraved into the window are the words
"Believe in Buffalo" in italics.

I just love that his sign is removable/hanging on the window while his believe in buffalo slogan is engraved in the window. It makes me smile every time I see it.

: )

 

[oulevin]

Homey places

These aren't grungy romantic places, but in my native Oklahoma City a couple of sites are my second homes. First is the touristy district of Bricktown, the renovated warehouse neighborhood of restaurants and bars and some shops -- with a canal running through it. Special to me is the Chelino's patio overlooking the canal, the Bricktown Ballpark plaza with Mickey Mantle's statue, and the Lit art gallery/lounge which is a scene to behold. Second is the Borders bookstore's Cafe Espresso on Northwest Expressway: on Friday nights I found company with a diverse batch of regulars with whom conversation was always good.

 

[plannerkat]

A couple of places in Jacksonville come to mind...
-Memorial Park in the Riverside neighborhood, designed by the sons of Frederick Law Olmstead.
-Friendship Fountain on downtown's Southbank. Truly spectacular at night.

 

[biscuit]

There's a lot of places I really cherish in my city. For the urban vibe, nothing beats going to the Strip District on a Saturday morning to shop at all the ethnic and fresh food markets, and eat at the street vendors. But if I had to choose, I would say my favorite place to go in the city would be Frick Park. It's a large 'wilderness'park full of woods and hiking trails that, once you were walking through, you would never guess to be in the middle of the city. Having spent most of my live in the country, it's nice to have place like that, away from my crowded neighborhood.

 

[Miles Ignatius]

Cherished Turf

Although I live 45 miles away, I'd choose Boulder, Colorado for both its man-made and natural settings As anyone who's been there knows(as well as devotees of Mork n' Mindy), the Flatirons provide a dramatic backdrop to this charming burg nestled in the foothills of the Rockies.

And while the place has been challenged by growth pressures (who hasn't?), Boulder has differentiated itself by retaining some elements of uniqueness. When there, I never feel that sense of confused "displacement" about where I'm at.

 

[nerudite]

When I was 16 or so, and I had just started driving, I used to drive all over L.A. to see parts of the City outside of the Valley. I went to what I remember being Silver Lake and walked around in the little foothills there. I stumbled across this street that was made of stairs. There are houses on either row of the stair street, fronting on the stairs like a normal street. I remember them as craftsman type houses, but I was so young I didn't even know what craftsman was at the time. I have always wanted to go back, but I have never been able to find it again. Maybe the next time I'm in L.A. I'll go on a hunt for it to take pictures... it's one of my fondest memories of the L.A. built environment.

This place made such an impression on me when I was young, that it still crops up in my dreams from time to time. I would love to find some reference to it or a picture, but I have yet to find anything on the net.

Edit: I did a google search this morning, and it looks like the stairs are a part of a public street/stairway system that starts at Baxter and Avon in Echo Park. I wish I could find some pics though. Great views of downtown from Elysian Park.