How do you love L-A? Let us count the ways. The Public Theatre. Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary. Lost Valley. The restaurants. The people. The history. The smell of baking bread. Nearly 200 readers heeded the Sun Journal’s call for the best people, places, things and events in Lewiston-Auburn, L-A’s hidden gems. For two weeks, locals (and former locals) flooded the paper with e-mails, letters and phone calls, eager to share more than 150 favorites. Together they wrote a virtual love letter to the Twin Cities.

Some nominations were succinct. “No Name Pond — Lewiston!” wrote Carol Provencher. Others came with photos and long letters detailing the deep, personal meaning in each gem. In her e-mail, Vi Gerber waxed poetic. Literally. She wrote a 12-line ode to church steeples.

“I moved to this area in 1979 with my husband. He’d found employment in Leeds, at the time,” she said. “I was quite lost and found that the church steeples reaching into the sky were my best navigational tools. All were different and beautiful.”

(For her poem and all the other responses we received, go to the link at www.sunjournal.com.)

While most readers raved sincerely about their gems, rhapsodizing about L-A’s history, entertainment and natural wonders, a couple of people were more tongue-in-cheek.

“The roads,” wrote one reader. “You can feel like you’re four-wheeling on any street without having to go very far.” Because of the strong response, we broke the L-A gems into 11 categories. We received so many personal stories and individual memories of L-A childhoods that we couldn’t list everything about “the way life used to be” in the Twin Cities. We called those submissions collectively “Memories of L-A, its history and preservation” and listed them under the “history” category. (The specific recollections are also on our Web site.)

Some gems — Lewiston’s welcome sign — only got one vote. Others — such as the Basilica — were so popular they topped their categories.

What got the most votes of all? The Public Theatre. By a huge margin. Although there may have been some underground campaigning — nearly all the Public Theatre votes poured in together — there’s no denying people love the place.

“It is affordable and the level of production rivals any that I have seen anywhere,” wrote Andrea Quaid in her e-mail. “In fact, the presence of The Public Theater was the ‘extra weight’ that contributed to my decision to move from Topsham and to purchase a house in Lewiston.”

Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary came in second, with 17 votes.

“NYC has its Central Park. We have Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, a 300+ acre jewel poised for polishing with plans for a nature center, handicapped accessible restroom and trails, parking areas, and more,” wrote Sharon Poulin. “But even now, this diamond in the rough offers miles and miles of trails dotted with ponds, creeks, meadows, and flora and fauna of all kinds. It’s family friendly (sneakers or snowshoes welcome), pet (on a leash) friendly, and especially environmentally (all that oxygen) friendly.”

Other favorite gems included the Androscoggin River and falls (16 votes) and Community Little Theatre (16), the Franco-American Heritage Center (10) and Basilica (10). People — Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett, state Sen. Peggy Rotundo, everyone in L-A — won their share of votes, too.

One of the most unusual gems submitted: Lewiston’s light poles.

“I think the light poles that Lewiston has that contain four lamp lights on each one are just beautiful,” wrote James Williams.

Many gems have been around for years: the Basilica, the Androscoggin River and falls, Bates College. Readers tout them as old favorites.

But many readers — like Marie Condon — also love what’s new.

While most readers named one or two favorites, Condon listed 12. Born and raised in Lewiston-Auburn, the 80-year-old retired chemist remembers the mills in their heyday. She remembers the grit of Lisbon Street and how there used to be very little to do around town.

Now, she sees L-A revitalized. Right beside the Basilica and the falls, she named the LongHorn Steakhouse and The Colisee as “gems.”

“You feel like you’re in a new city,” she said. “Things are starting to come alive.”

[email protected]