Off the I-15

For Loretta Chavez, the day her mother was shot in the foot and her aunt was seriously injured offered an extra blow; the shooting took place in her grandfather’s house. Catarino Renteria, Loretta’s grandfather, built the house in 1952 and died there in March 2001.

“I never thought anything like that would happen in my grandfather’s house,” she said. “It’s always been a very sacred place.”

To Chavez, memories of the family’s Fourth of July celebrations give the home special significance.

Family ties are among many reasons people come to regard places as special or even sacred. The space can be specifically set aside for religious use or just inspire deep feelings.

For some, that might mean a fondness for evenings wading in the ocean or a tendency to frequent the cemetery where a loved one lies. Perhaps a location takes on special meaning because it is the site of a wedding, birth or other special event.

What spaces are special to you? What gives a geographical location emotional or spiritual significance?

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