The 2005 Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac has proven to be quite popular. You have been wonderful about sending us your recommnedations, favorites, and choices for "Urban Sanctuaries" and "Essential Places". We are also gratified to receive your musings, thoughts and observations of the natural world in your region. Below you will find a great number of submissions we have received via e-mail from you, our readers. The following Urban Sanctuaries and Essential Places are listed by state so you can visit them on your travels.

Arizona California Florida Georgia Illinois Massachusetts

Minnesota Missouri Nebraska New York Ohio Pennsylvania

Washington Washington D.C. Wisconsin Wyoming

Essential Place
Tucson: Fourth Avenue
When I first came to Tucson in 1969, Fourth Avenue, between the downtown underpass and Speedway, was in a rotting stage with roaming hippies and decaying old businesses. Oddly though, there was a strong entrepreneurial spirit and the little shops and co-ops formed an association that today encompasses a district so welcoming that every sort of Tucsonian shops, dines and strolls there...

Today, the trolley again merrily clacks down the avenue, connecting the university to the restaurants, bars and dozens of locally owned shops like The Native Seed Search, The Food Conspiracy, Antigone's Bookstore and many renowned thrift stores. High quality murals are kept up by artists that have galleries nearby and the sidewalk trees planted thirty years ago provide shade for all the strollers. The park up the street is one of the safest in this downtown area. The 4th Ave. Street fair is held twice a year and an absolute must-go for Tucsonans from the farthest edges of the city.

Even during this summer heat, even during the school break, even though it's not tourist season, you'll see a hearty mix of mothers and babies, business suits, colorful oddballs, cruising SUV's (oh well), poets at the sidewalk tables and any other demographic you can imagine. It's probably that "otherness" and its "not-a-sterile-mall" feel that draws them all to Fourth Avenue. — Kevin Moodie

Urban Sanctuary
Tucson: Tohono Chul Park
Awesome! — A reader

Essential Place
Sacramento: Farmer's Market
Every Sunday morning the Sacramento Farmer's Market appears under the freeway at 8th and W Streets. It is a working illustration of the quintessential Sacramento. The region's origins grow from a combination of farming in the rich loam of the Sacramento Delta, the discovery of gold, and the building of the railroad. All these drew immigrants from outside the U.S. and from other states. One result is that in 2004, Harvard's Civil Rights Project rated Sacramento as the most ethnically diverse city in the nation. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Sunday morning farmer's market.

The aroma of onions and dill, strawberries and fresh fish intermix as women in long silk saris reaching for ripe, vine-grown tomatoes beside Mexican-American mothers with daughters in ruffled white dresses, just come from St. Elizabeth's Church across the park. Chinese who live nearby pull wire carts behind them to carry their vegetables. Ukrainian immigrants with bright blue eyes and pink cheeks mingle with young African American girls, their corn rows dotted with cobalt beads. A big Hawaiian father carries his dark-skinned, blue-eyed daughter in a child carrier on his back, stopping to visit with a state worker munching grapes from a bag on his arm. Different languages float by, underscored by overhead traffic. Mornings are cool, even in summer, and Sundays bring the luxury of time. Shoppers are diverse, but they are mutually focused on ears of corn picked fresh this morning, boxes of red and green peppers, fresh strawberries grown in the Salinas Valley, roasted salted almonds, tall sunflowers, organic avocados, and local honey. — Virginia Kidd

Essential Place
Sacramento: The Tower at 16th and Broadway
When we Sacramentans make that long drive home late at night, rolling in from San Francisco or a weekend on the coast, when we have driven over the coastal range, past the new outlet malls and the old fruit stands, across the wide Yolo Causeway above the marshy lowlands outside Davis, and up the freeway over the Sacramento River far below, when our eyes burn, our back strains, and we just want to crawl into bed, then, finally, ahead on our right we see the multi-colored neon lights atop the Tower Theater at 16th and Broadway reaching 93 feet up in the sky like a welcoming wave that says, "You've made it to Sacramento." We relax then, because we know we are home, even if we still have miles to go to some suburb.

Sixteenth and Broadway is an essential place in Sacramento. At that point, 16th Street becomes Land Park Drive and takes a jog to the right, creating a triangle where it juts off. In that triangle sit the historic Tower Theater, built in 1938, and Tower Café. Above the café, a neon image reminds the community of the building's history. A couple still dances on a round black record, which spins off music notes and the words "Records, Cosmetics, Films." This was once Tower Drugs, where Russ Soloman began selling records; and across 16th Street, his first Tower Records and Books still operates.

The corner is a congenial gathering spot for the community. People come for the foreign and art films the theater now features, to browse through books and music, to meet friends for elaborate desserts and coffee or meals with an international flair. Tower Café has a large al fresco eating area nestled among palm, juniper and mimosa trees. Such outdoor areas lead to easy encounters. Also, small Chinese and Thai cafes dot Broadway nearby.

Broadway is a mixed street, filled not just with neighborhood restaurants, but also with auto supply stores, liquor stores, a hardware store, a fishing and gun firm, a Chevron station and Target. Such a conglomeration keeps the corner from being just an entertainment spot, making it central to business as well as a neighborhood treasure.

Unfortunately, the city of Sacramento is poised to help develop a movie complex in nearby downtown that could undercut the Tower Theater. This threat, however, gives community members another reason to gather at this essential place in Sacramento, to protest the city project and to save the life and history this corner represents. — Virginia Kidd

Urban Sanctuary
Rancho Palos Verdes: Wayfarer's Chapel
Wayfarer's Chapel (aka the glass church) in Rancho Palos Verdes qualifies not because it is a church, but rather in spite of it. The setting is beautiful and peaceful, on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean - Catalina Island in the distance on a clear day - surrounded by flowers and pepper trees and sage. The chapel itself is very small and intimate, designed, I think, by Frank Lloyd Wright or a disciple of his, all glass and wood cradled into the hillside, as if planted there by god herself... — Arden Cody

Urban Sanctuary
Los Angeles: Runyon Canyon
This urban park is minutes from downtown Hollywood, yet the secluded parts feel as serene as the San Bernadino Mountains. The trails that meander into the hills have the most breathtaking vistas of the LA basin, in all of its funky glory (or grand funkiness?). The hikers in the park encompass almost every group in the area, making the people watching an engrossing experience. Other parks in the area may offer more space or ocean views, but this idiosyncratic park encapsulates the local culture within a rugged oasis. — Andrew Kutchera

Urban Sanctuary
Oakland: Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is the largest(?) urban saltwater lake in the US (or maybe the world), a place where Oaklanders of all stripes come to walk, run and picnic. It has: Children's Fairyland, which was something of a prototype for Disneyland; an urban bird sanctuary; gondola rides; and boat rentals. — Phil Ferrante-Roseberry

Urban Sanctuary
West Oakland: WOW Farm
Look down to your right when you come out of the tunnel from San Francisco, and right past the post office building you'll see the WOW This small triangular garden is privately owned by a local artist who, for reasons that are not completely clear to me, dedicated his "farm" to the surrounding neighborhood. The WOW Farm is an oasis of green and lush growth of a wide diversity of vegetation, vegetables, flowers and a few fruit trees, within a small six-or-so square block "transitioning" urban area. Our little corner of West Oakland is bordered by the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) track and station, the monolithic Oakland main post office, highways, and the legacy of major construction and highly polluting industrial neighbors. That the feng shui of the neighborhood has much to be desired is an understatement. But every time I step through the gate into the WOW Farm, I feel a sense of belonging and grounding that nurtures me greatly. I find solace in knowing that I can stroll over to the garden anytime I want; I sit at the picnic table with my journal, wander around checking on the tomatoes and beans, or just gaze at the 12-foot tower of multiple sunflowers swaying and smiling in the breeze. — Wako Takayama

Essential Place
SanDiego: Hillcrest
Hillcrest is a section of San Diego that has lots of cultural things, like used bookstores, art galleries, coffee shops, and is very pedestrian friendly. There are wide sidewalks and very few parking lots, and most of the commercial buildings come right out to the sidewalks. — Chris Flescher

Essential Place
Los Angeles: Union Station
Union Station is an example of transit revival. About 15 years ago, a few long distance intercity trains per day served it. Now, there are many (around 100) trains a day to places like Irvine, San Bernardino, and Oxnard. The subway to North Hollywood stops there and so does the trolley to Pasadena, so lots of people go through there. There are plans for future rail lines to connect it to places like East Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Right now, people mainly pass through, switching from a train to a subway or similar transfers. However, there are plans to build many things within walking distance, like office buildings, restaurants, and apartments, which should lead to more people walking around what is now a somewhat run-down area. — Chris Flescher

Urban Sanctuary
Oakland: Biblical Botanical Gardens
The Biblical Botanical Gardens at Rodef Shalom Synagogue in Oakland are very special. A quiet haven in a busy spot and quite beautiful. — Kit Needham

Urban Sanctuary
San Jose: Center for Spiritual Enlightenment Labyrinth
There is a labyrinth on the grounds at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose, CA on University Ave. Sometimes I go there to touch my soul and notice how it is connected to the soul of others and the BIG soul of the Universe. It is not the chapel, sanctuary, or service, that calls me like the labyrinth does. The setting is outdoor, peaceful, the labyrinth is natural; I like to hear the squinsh, squinsh, of the sand beneath my feet, as I spiral round and round between the pebbly parameters of the path leading to the center, my center, THE center. Soulful me-time in a hi-tech town. — Linda Galdieri

Urban Sanctuary
Pacific Palisades: Lake Shrine
I would like to nominate the Lake Shrine at the Self-Realization Fellowship center that was founded by Parmahansa Yogananda in Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles). The Lake Shrine has regular visiting hours for anyone to visit. This is one of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles). Beyond that, it is a spiritual sanctuary. This is based on the fact that it holds the only ashes of Ghandi in the Western Hemisphere and has natural beauty that is clear to see. More important is the experience of those who visit that may very well follow the wishes of the founder who intended that all those who entered its grounds may know God. Lake Shrine honors all religions and followers of the Self-Realization Fellowhsip center may practice Kriya Yoga or take lessons of Parmahansa Yogananda who was widely viewed as a true guru whose life's mission was to incorporate Eastern and Western religions. — Mark Gelhaus

Urban Sanctuary
San Francisco: Grace Cathedral Labyrinth
There is an indoor labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, woven as a wool carpet (you remove your shoes before walking this one), and there is an outdoor labyrinth, laid into the tile on one of the lovely patio areas, which is available (as far as I know) to be walked any time, day or night, with benches surrounding it for non-walkers or for pre- or post-walk contemplation. In the midst of city living, this place of peace is a real blessing to have available. — A reader

Urban Sanctuary
Modesto: Thousand Oaks Park and Dry Creek Regional Park
According to the Brookings Institute, Modesto, California, is the 10th most densely populated urban area in United States, and it is the 89th largest city in the country, bigger than Salt Lake City, Orlando, or Savannah. It has about 210,000 people in the city,and 500,000 in the metro area.

Right in the middle of all this urban expanse are Thousand Oaks and Dry Creek Regional Parks. The two contiguous parks run for several miles along Dry Creek into the heart of Modesto. Everyday, hundreds of people picnic, walk, roller skate, or bike along its trails both paved and unpaved. Thousands of native oaks, many of them hundreds of years old, can be found in the park.

In the central valley of California, 99 percent of the native vegetation has been destroyed, and this park is a rare sanctuary not only for people, but for trees and wildlife as well. It is somewhat ironic that an urban area preserves native vegetation, but this is because outside of the cities in this part of the country the native vegetation has been uprooted for agriculture. If there ever was an urban sanctuary, this is one of them. — Bob Barzan

Urban Sanctuary
San Francisco: Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park — Brad Newsham

Urban Sanctuary
Miami: Old Cutler Road to Coconut Grove
Old Cutler Road to Coconut Grove is a marvelous canopy insulating you from the polyglot chaos, which is Miami, which I embrace, choose and love but from, which I occasionally require respite.

The road is uplifting by day, its greeness enveloping you, shading you not only from the sun but from other realities of life. It is a cocoon from urban life where your thoughts can metamorphose themselves into your conscious being. Its coolness protects you, insulates you and gives you the environment necessary to contemplate the more important things in life.

It is a journey of peace, a time to detach from everyday life and connect to the world of natural beauty. There is a timeless message here from trees which are hundreds of years old, a message of endurance, of the perseverance of beauty, of infinite truth.

At night it is a wonderland, dark, mysterious, entrancing, an enticement to the imagination and to romance. Without the lights of the car, even with the moon, the road is obscured so that you must find your way by instinct. You can reconnect with your essential self, the self of your ancestors, by picking your way down the road beneath the arched branches.

The Old Cutler Road drive to Coconut Grove is a spiritual journey. The druids are undoubtedly in the trees along the hammocks, shyly hiding, waiting for you to pass so that they can share their wisdom with you. — Dona Dailey

Urban Sanctuary
Atlanta: East Lake Commons
It is like walking into the N. Georgia Mtns when you venture in because the developer used a model from Denmark of co-housing sustainable living. The trees were left standing and no cars are allowed except at the entrance, so there are many green spaces of untouched nature in addition to the organic garden feeding over 80 families, fruit orchards and individual victory gardens. It has a natural spring fed pond that is stocked, a greenhouse, and many educational programs for the community. No one can believe this area was preserved in the midst of our teeming, concrete, trafficked city right off I-20, 4 miles from downtown Atlanta. — Andrea Kay Smith

Essential Place
East Atlanta Village
I would like to nominate East Atlanta Village. When we first moved here, everything was boarded up in this community area that was previously meant to serve with businesses & food. It looked like a war zone with no walking traffic and only the feeling of fear. Now there are 15 restaurants, a print shop, a new library, a new Ace Hardware, fire station, banks and many cute shops that draw people from all over Atlanta with unique cuisine and shopping on foot, outdoors like before automobiles took over. Evander Holyfield sponsored a Boys/Girls Club here. There is an annual "Strut" where all the neighbors get out and parade down closed streets. It's a living testament to the history of Atlanta coming up out of the flames (phoenix) and overcoming terrible odds to succeed and serve the community which needs it most. — Andrea Kay Smith

Essential Place
Chicago: Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool
This oasis was designed by the landscape architect, Alfred Caldwell (Jens Jensen, who seems to be more famous these days, studied with Mr. Caldwell) in the 1920's I think. Over the years it deteriorated and at one point was a rookery for wild birds. In the late 1990s the City and Friends of the Parks restored the pool to its original design - beautiful limestone, prairie grasses, waterfall, and, of course, lily pads in the pond.

I often visit in the early mornings but it's quiet at any time of day. If I listen carefully, I can hear traffic swooshing up and down Lake Shore Drive but mostly I hear birds in the trees, ducks in the pond, and water rushing over the falls.

Although it's open to the public both from Fullerton Avenue (across from the Notebaert Nature Museum) and Stockton Drive, (the entrance to parking for the Lincoln Park Zoo), I rarely see other people and never more than 2-3 others. I am always surprised to learn that one of my friends doesn't know this lovely spot. — Marcia Flick

Essential Place
Chicago: Wrigley Field
Cubs game, mid-afternoon, a beautiful summer day in Wrigley Field, Chicago. — Arielle Greenberg

Essential Place
Moline: Lagomarcino's
Lagomarcino's is special because it's been in business in the same downtown location for almost 100 years, having survived the economic downturn, blight, and resurgence of our downtown area with its charm intact. It's still family owned and operated. And, the Lagomarcino family goes out of its way to staff people who are developmentally disabled, making a vital contribution to our Local ARC's (formerly Association for Retarded Citizens) education programs.

I love Lagomarcino's because it's the only place in town I can go where the interior is essentially the same as it was when my grandmother, who was born in 1897, sat in a cozy wooden booth and had a soda when she was a child. I can't wait to take my daughter, who is two, there for her first phosphate. — Vicki Graves

Urban Sanctuary
Chicago: Lake Michigan
The running/biking/dog-walking path along Lake Michigan. — Arielle Greenberg

Essential Place
Chicago: Joseph Cornell Room at the Chicago Art Institute
… especially the darkened room where the boxes glow magically and are positioned at children's eye level. — Arielle Greenberg

Urban Sanctuary
Chicago: Osaka Garden
Osaka Garden in the Hyde Park community of Chicago is one of our family's sacred spaces. — Adenia Linker

Urban Sanctuary
Lisle: Morton Arboretum
Volunteers planted thousands of yellow daffodil bulbs and each spring there is a sea of yellow...the whole property is truly a sanctuary from the hectic life in Chicago. — Terry Spaeth

Essential Place
Cambridge: Grolier Poetry bookstore — Arielle Greenberg

Urban Sanctuary
St. Cloud: Munsinger Gardens and Clemens Gardens
Munsinger Gardens is the informal garden with lots of colorful perennial and annual flowers nestled along wonderful pathways next to the Mississippi River. Many of the stonework was constructed as part of the WPA during the 1930's. My favorite area is the pathway with several large cedar trees and the one with some heritage rosebushes. There is a large yellow rosebush that reminds me of my grandmother's garden back in the 1950's and 1960's.

You walk up the hill to the more formal Clemens Gardens, which have spectacular flowers and fountains. The Virginia Clemens Rose Garden is a treat, but I like the fountains especially on a warm day with a little breeze so I can feel the spray. The gardens are at their most spectacular during the summer, but I also like them during the winter when the dried vegetation and empty fountains form a stark sort of beauty against a backdrop of snow. They are also less visited during the winter, so they can't be beat as places of respite and solitude among nature in the middle of the city. — Margery Whites

Urban Sanctuary
St. Paul: Central Library(but really any urban library)
I unnecessarily stress myself out at work, which I generally like, but sometimes over lunch I go over to the library and as the smell of the books wafts over me, the tension in my face melts away. I don't even need to read anything.… My brain and my heart are home for a bit. Interestingly I can do this in nearly any library in the country in any city I go to and get the same affect. Islands of calm evenly distributed around cities in the country. — Mike Taylor

Urban Sanctuary
Minneapolis: Minnehaha Falls
My favorite urban sanctuary here in the Twin Cities is Minnehaha Falls on Minnehaha Creek; we're lucky to have several islands of nature in the area. Minnehaha Creek is the natural aorta of Minneapolis, carrying life-giving water from one end to another, and connecting it to the Father of Waters. I used to love to park and watch the falls for a time, then walk the path down to the river. I could feel the tension flow away with the water. By the time I reached the Mississippi, I would be totally relaxed. — Magenta Griffith

Essential Place
Saint Louis: Central West End
The Central West End is a half-mile strip of bars, cafes, and pool houses. It also houses some of the most colorful people in the city of Saint Louis. If you go there on any given Saturday night you can expect to find a wide variety of people, from homeless people to homosexual couples. You can expect to find all which Saint Louis embodies, from world famous ice cream, to impromptu musicians looking to make a quick buck. The Central West End is best representative of the essential characteristic of Saint Louis, in that is somewhat of a melting pot for all different types of people regardless of your culture or race. The character of Saint Louis, I believe is one of closeness and brotherhood, it is one of acceptance and recognition that goes beyond your cultural background. The Central West End embodies this essential characteristic which I find so meaningful and important for the further development of our city. — A reader

Urban Sanctuary
Kansas City: Mill Creek Park and Nelson Atkins Museum Outdoor Sculpture Garden
Mill Creek Park (47th & J.C. Nichols Pkwy) and Nelson Atkins Museum Outdoor Sculpture Garden. — A reader

Urban Sanctuary
St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden
This garden, founded by Henry Shaw, is an oasis within the city. It includes the largest Japanese garden outside of Japan; rose gardens, perennials, an R. Buckminster Fuller dome enclosing a rain forest environment and much more. If you haven't seen it, it's worth the trip to St. Louis. Two of my favorite annual events are the Japanese festival on the grounds each Labor Day weekend, and a Best of Missouri Market each October featuring food and art created by Missourians. — Jean Themes

Urban Sanctuary
St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden http://www.mobot.org.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a wonderful sanctuary in the heart of St. Louis, a true jewel of the area. — Tim Taylor

Essential Place
St. Louis: Soulard Farmer's Market
The Soulard Farmer's Market dates back to the 1700s, and every Saturday morning (the heaviest day of traffic) people from all over the area shop for groceries. There' a wonderful mix of folks--affluent, working class, various ethnicities - mingling together as they find wonderfully inexpensive food. The diverse faces of St. Louis show up at Soulard Farmer's Market, which is a much more representative and symbolic place for St. Louis than that silly Arch. — Tim Taylor

Urban Sanctuary
Omaha: Omaha Healing Arts Center
www.omahahealingarts.com — Sid Mitzlaff

Urban Sanctuary
Omaha: Josyln Art Museum
…what I most remember was the sense of serenity sitting in the glorious floral courtyard near the main entrance of the museum…with the beautiful three-tiered, turquoise-tiled fountain in the center and the quality of silence in a large space. I am not quite sure what this Mediterranean-inspired courtyard was doing a mile and a half from the Missouri River.…there was something about the intimacy of the collections, a few cases of Egyptian jewelry, a room of early European painting combined with the immensity of the courtyard that gave my visits to the museum the quality of a pilgrimage…the time in the Joslyn courtyard gave me my first taste of something I reluctantly call "sacred time and sacred space." It was my first consciousness of how the beauty of a place can open one's heart, and that place can be a church or grove of redwoods or a Midwestern museum. — J. Ruth Gendler

Essential Place
Brooklyn: Gateway National Recreation Area
…because it has the nations largest community garden, because it's where Amelia Earhart and Charles Linberg took off and landed, because it's where the cops practice high speed chases, and, most importantly, because at the beach south of the archery range pieces of pottery wash up from when the whole area was Barren Island, NYC's first garbage dump ( the didn't call it Dead Horse Bay for nothing). It is my favorite under-documented chapter of NYC history. — Rebecca Bloom

Urban Sanctuary
New York City: New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden — Eric & Linda Ogden-Wolgemuth

Essential Place
New York City: St. Marks' church
The annual New Year's midnight poetry marathon at St. Mark's Church. — Arielle Greenberg

Urban Sanctuary
Cleveland: Metroparks System http://www.clemetparks.com
Here in Cleveland we have the Cleveland Metroparks System. Many people refer to this system as "the valley" or simply "the Metroparks," and its nickname is the Emerald Necklace, since it more or less looks like a green necklace on the map.

I'm nominating this place because it is a place to go for nature, to hike, bike, run, ride horses, play softball or soccer, have picnics, walk along the river, etc. The valley is a place where I go to reconnect with nature, with myself, and with friends. It functions as a great place to get away from the business of city happenings (i.e. traffic, job-related stress, etc). While some parts of the Metroparks are not technically valleys, they are still very green natural spaces. In the actual valley portions, I always feel below the city, as going up any hill would return you to the city.

The Metroparks also stretch from town to town, so driving through the valley is a great way to have a relaxing time in the car and escape major traffic. — David McLaughlin

Urban Sanctuary
Columbus: Chadwick Arboretum labyrinth
It is modeled after the famous 11-circuit Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth in France built nearly 800 years ago. It is free and freely available to all along Lane Avenue at the Ohio State University. It takes about 20 minutes to complete and can be very relaxing and meditative. I nominate this because it is free, easy to get to, and can serve a meditative break from the hussle and bussle of the city. — Sarah Jordan

Urban Sanctuary
Columbus: Olentangy River Wetland Research Park http://swamp.ag.ohio-state.edu
Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. at Ohio State is open 9 a.m. to sundown to the general public and tours are given for groups of 3 or more. Research is being conducted but the public is free to observe wildlife at 25 acres of restored wetlands in the middle of the city. — Sarah Jordan

Essential Place
Worthington: Rush Creek Village http://columbusoh.about.com/
Rush Creek Village, in the Columbus suburb of Worthington, is one of two neighborhoods in the country based upon the principles of organic architecture (Usonian Design) and the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright. I think this place sums up Columbus: obscure, unpretentious, blending into the background, but also unique and interesting if given a visit. — Sarah Jordan

Essential Place
Pittsburgh: Plaza at PPG Place
Thanks to the generosity of the Hillman Family, the area fondly referred to the "Tomb of the UnKnown Bowler" now transforms itself every summer and winter. In the summer a magnificent fountain appears from no where (actually it's built like that) where kids can frolic and enjoy themselves for hours in a safe place (while the parents sit nearby reading, writing or enjoying lunch). It's a swimming hole for the urban pioneer - no frills, no problems - all just plain fun. Throughout the summer you can find children (and possibly one or two adults) standing in the middle of this huge forest of water!

Come late fall - an outdoor ice skating rink magically appears! Skate during your lunch hour, after work with the kids or first thing in the morning! A place where families can come to town and enjoy themselves. — Darla Cravotta

Urban Sanctuary
Philadelphia: Free Library, Main Branch
Each department has a different vibe, and the employees are helpful and friendly. It's also a "cool" place to go on a summer day for relief from the heat and humidity. It's a stone's throw from the Whole Foods Market where one can stop for lunch. There's now a Starbuck's nearby, as well. — A reader

Urban Sanctuary
Pittsburgh: North Side Allegheny Riverfront
This riverfront is a combination of new & old, is a living space that allows for peaceful mediation for families. Best of all, the bike trail that runs along the Allegheny River, from Washington's Landing to the PNC Baseball Stadium is family friendly and full of fun. You can see geese, ducks - all types of birds and wildlife; along with a tremendous & breathtaking view of the City of Pittsburgh. Fishermen adore the river (yes, the urban river of Pittsburgh) and you can watch canoes and kayaks all day long while hearing the engine and blow of a train.

My family walks and bikes down here and there is a terrific space to sit (benches included!) while standing on a bit of an overlook. You can spend hours here - topping it off with a baseball game! — Darla Cravotta

Urban Sanctuary
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Seventeen locations - places to connect, contemplate and hang out. Places for families, for children, for teens and for seniors. Libraries are more than just books - you can research you favorite sport, find cook books, have coffee, use computers and internet access all at no cost. Service without the "shhhhh" in 21st century libraries. Libraries are essential urban sanctuaries - they are community anchors, community centers and places of respite. — Darla Cravotta

Urban Sanctuary
Pittsburgh: Frick Park http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/
Frick Park in Pittsburgh is a wonderful piece of nature in the heart of the city. — A reader

Urban Sanctuary
Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory
Outdoor, free public gardens. — Amy Van Horn

Essential Place
Seattle: view northwest from the PAC MED building
As a walker in Seattle I nominate the view looking northwest from the PAC MED building in Seattle. It's the working person's view of downtown...none of this Frasier's Queen Anne crap. You've got the mountains and the ferries. It takes my breath away every time, and I see it almost everyday. The sculpture garden that begins just to the east ends with a fabulous pagoda from Korea. — Rebecca Bloom

Urban Sanctuary
Seattle: Discovery Park
http://www.cooltrails.com/discovry.htm
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/Environment/discovparkindex.htm
http://www.livingwilderness.com/crossref/discovery.html
There are so many here, but my favorite is Discovery Park. — Kendra Wagner

Urban Sanctuary
Washington D.C.: a "hole in the city"
On a recent trip to Washington, DC., I stumbled on to a "hole in the city." Trying to get from Dupont Circle to Georgetown, I accidentally went northwest up "Embassy Row" (or Massachusetts Ave.). I got past 30th Street before realizing I was way north of where I was trying to get.

Starting back, just past Whitehaven Street, I discovered a dirt path high above Rock Creek, heading off to the south and west. Here in the middle of the city, known apparently only to the squirrels, was a piece of peace. To my right was a fence, but to my left was a dramatic drop-off (too steep to want to scale in my good shoes). Not sure where it was leading, I followed this "one-track" for nearly half a mile before I found signs for Dumbarton Oaks Park, and finally came out on S Street near Wisconsin.— Thom Knoll

Urban Sanctuary
Washington D.C.: National Botanical Gardens
— Bob Gladding

Urban Sanctuary
Milwaukee: Lake Michigan lakefront
So many parks charm visitors by offering a place of respite from the surrounding the urban fabric, like Central Park or Golden Gate Park. Yet, very few seem to truly connect with nature on a fundamental level. The Milwaukee lakefront "begins" downtown, where high rises and the Art Museum meet the water. The park extends north, offering a variety of landscapes here, beaches there. At the northern tip, the wilderness seems to take over, even though residences continue for another thirty miles. Some of this parkland has been civilized with the gleaming sand and the disciplined yacht club, yet stretches feel so windswept and elemental. The mood of Lake Michigan overwhelms the mood of the park (unlike the lakefront of Chicago, which is dominated by architecture). The urban condition seems miles away from the impact of this deep and gloomy body of water. — Andrew Kutchera

Essential Place
Casper: Grant Street Grocery & Market
The Grant Street Grocery & Market is a small, corner neighborhood grocery that has been here since 1921. Our family purchased the store in February 2004, and is only the 5th owner of the store. We sit in a residential neighborhood near downtown Casper, and are visited by neighbors as well as others across the city. We also still deliver groceries, mostly to the elderly but also to people in rural areas. I don't believe there are many stores like ours anymore, and the feedback we have gotten since we took over has been wonderful. We are trying to restore and improve the market, and we are making additions of gourmet and hard to find items, which no other store in our town has. Where else can you drive up to the front door of a store, run in and quickly get what you need, have a butcher cut your meat to order, send your children down safely, be met by friendly faces, and even still have a charge account? I believe our store is truly an essential place in our city. — Marabeth Kopp

Thank you,
Still yours for a greener, kinder world,

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