The Paramount Theatre under renovation, downtown Aurora.
'Aurora' is a city in
Kane,
DuPage,
Will and
Kendall counties in
Illinois,
United States. As of the
2000 census, the city population was 142,990, making it the third-largest city in Illinois; in 2003, behind
Chicago and Rockford, and just above neighboring
Naperville, Illinois. A special census found the city's population to be 157,267. Some Aurora residents claim this makes it the second-largest city in Illinois, just ahead of
Rockford, but Rockford was not recounted at the same time, thus the matter may not be settled until the 2010 US Census. About 115,000 residents live in
Aurora Township. This brings the total population of the city to 272,820, although only the 157,267 number is official. About 110,000 of the city's residents reside in Kane County, while about 42,000 live in DuPage County. Only a few thousand Aurorans are in Will and Kendall Counties.
The city refers to itself as "The City of Lights" because it was one of the first communities to adopt all-electric street lighting (in 1881 - the nickname was adopted in 1908). In fact, the name Aurora itself means dawn.
History
For many years before the white man came, there was an indian village in what is today downtown Aurora. In the early 1830's, the McCarty brothers arrived and initially owned land on both sides of the river, but sold their lands on the west side, living and operating their mill on the east side. Aurora was originally two towns: McCarty Mills on the east side and Hartford on the west side of the
Fox River. McCarty Mills was named for founders Samuel and Joseph McCarty. McCarty Mills eventually incorporated as Aurora, and Hartford incorporated as West Aurora. The name of Aurora was chosen because the Aurora Borealis, or "Northern Lights", were shimmering fantastic hues of greens and blues high above the night sky on the eve of a then-popular festival called Dairy Days. To this day, Aurora is one of few cities with official colors (of blue and green) due to this event. The Aurora Fire Department was established in 1856, and took ownership of its first fire engine that year. The two towns incorporated as one in
1857. The two sides couldn’t agree on which side of the river should house the public buildings, so these buildings and eventually all of downtown were built around Stolp Island in the middle of the River. A
parking garage stands at the site of the original
City Hall and
Post Office. The two towns leave a legacy of rivalry between the East and West which is mostly enacted through a
high school football/
basketball rivalry. This is the oldest high school rivalry in the state, and it was featured in a special "Us vs. Them" article in the
Chicago Tribune in
May 2006. Aurora was hit with one of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit Illinois, back on May 26,1909. It put cracks through chimneys and could be felt 500,000 square miles around.
Aurora was a manufacturing powerhouse until 1974, when the railroad shops began to close. Soon many other factories and industrial areas became vacant. By 1980, there were few industrial areas in the city. Unemployment was over 15 percent. Before things got too out of hand, the city approved the Hollywood Casino Aurora. The casino brought redevelopment to the downtown area as well as the residential areas around it. It also brought the building of several business and industrial parks on the outsides of the city. Today many of the old factories have been reoccupied as warehouses, although several large inner city factories remain vacant.
President George W. Bush visited Aurora, Illinois on
July 7, 2006, as the second president to ever visit Aurora. The first was
Theodore Roosevelt in
1904.
[1]
Recently Kentucky Governor
Ernie Fletcher used Aurora in an anti-casino ad in his re-election campaign. Governor Fletcher referred to Aurora as a good town gone bad, because of the casino. Contradictory to the Governors ad, the casino may have been the one thing that saved aurora during its industrial recession of the 1980s.
History of Entertainment
Aurora has a rich history of entertainment. There were several theaters in the downtown area and several large community parks with baseball stadiums, circus acts, and race tracks.
Aurora has had at least 20 theaters and playhouses in its existence.
Some of the more popular were:
★ Coulter Opera House
Opened-1874
Closed-1899
This was auroras first major Playhouse/Opera House/Theater. The building is still standing today as the 5/3 Bank, formerly Merchants Bank, in downtown.
★ Evans Grand Opera House
Opened-1891
Closed-1915
★ Bijou Theater/Star Theater
Opened-1900
Closed-1915
★ Aurora Coliseum/Fox Theater
Opened-1901
Closed-1930
Changed Name to Fox Theater in 1910. Condemned by the city in 1930.
★ The Strand Theater
Opened-1915
Closed-1929
Burned Down in 1929
★ Sylvandell Dance Hall/Rialto Theater
Opened-1915
Closed-1928
Changed its name to the Rialto Theater in 1919. This was the most popular theater in Aurora at the time, but it unfortunately burned down in 1928. It was nicknamed the "Million Dollar Fire" because of the large amount of money the owners Frank Thielen and Jules J. Rubens spent converting the Dance hall to a top quality theater. It even had a bowling alley in the basement. Where the Rialto Theater formerly stood, there arose the most popular Aurora theater to date; the Paramount Arts Centre.
★ Tivoli Theater
Opened-1928
Closed-1981
Demolished soon after closing. Was one of the more popular Aurora Theaters of all time and gave competition to the Paramount theater. But like many other Aurora Businesses in the 1980s, the Tivoli Closed. Also had a bowling alley.
★ Paramount Arts Center
Opened-1913
The longest lived Aurora Theater. Was built on the site of the old Rialto Theater. Went under a complete renovation and was one of the only surviving downtown businesses during the 1980s.
★ New Fox Theater
Opened-1935
Closed-1978
A third theater in Aurora for several decades. Is closed now, but the building still stands.
★ Isle Theater
Opened-1938
Closed-1982
A smaller theater next to the Leland Hotel, was demolished in 1982 and now is a park.
★ Coliseaum Theater
Opened-1923
Closed-1951
18 city blocks from the original Aurora Coliseum. Was converted into apartments and shops after 1951.
Economy
Although mostly considered part of Kane County, Aurora is also on the
Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Aurora has a long tradition of manufacturing, making it an industrial center that could stand alone, separate from Chicago. Prominent manufacturers, past and present, included: Lyon Workspace Products, The Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing Company, Barber Greene Ltd., the Chicago Corset Company, the Aurora Brewing Company, Stephens-Adamson Company,
Caterpillar Incorporated, and Western Wheeled Scraper Works (later Austin-Western Inc.). Olsson Roofing Company, Inc. was started in 1914 and is one of the oldest companies in the city. The most prominent employer and industry was the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (later
Burlington Northern) which was headquartered in Aurora. The CB&Q Roundhouse is still standing, and is now the popular restaurant Walter Payton’s Roundhouse.
Education
According to the United States Census, of Aurora's population over the age of twenty-five, 26% hold a bachelor's degree.
Two main school systems have served the
Kane County, Illinois core location of Aurora, Illinois since the
1860s, one on either side of the
Fox River which physically divides the city. In addition, the far eastern portion of Aurora, within
DuPage County, Illinois, has been served by Indian Prairie School District (IPSD) 204 since that district's formation in 1972. All three of these districts (Aurora Public Schools: West Side (District 129), Aurora Public Schools: East Side (District 131) and IPSD) have their headquarters and administrative offices within the Aurora city limits. As of 2005 there will be no less than forty public schools within Aurora city limits, serving residents of Aurora and neighboring communities.
Due to the sheer size of the city of Aurora, these are not the only three school systems serving residents - some students in the far north end of the city (north of
I88 in Kane County) attend
Batavia, Illinois public schools, some on the far southwest side attend the Kaneland School district (headquartered in
Maple Park, Illinois), and some students in the far south end of the city (Kendall and Will County portions) attend
Oswego, Illinois public schools. The Wheatlands Elementary School in
Kendall County, Illinois and the Homestead Elementary School, Wolf's Crossing Elementary School and Bednarcik Junior High School in
Will County, Illinois of Oswego School District #308, are located within Aurora's city limits. For this article, the districts with headquarters in Aurora are listed in alphabetical order.
Aurora is also home to the
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), a state-funded residential
magnet school for grades 10 to 12. While IMSA operates under public funds (and uses the site originally designated West Aurora High School North Campus), it is managed wholly independently of the other public schools in the city of Aurora. Young residents meeting IMSA's requirements who live in Aurora, or any other Illinois community, may apply for admission to IMSA.
The above-named districts have forty-six public schools within the city limits of Aurora (seventeen for District #131, thirteen for District #129, eleven for District #204, four for Oswego District #308 and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy). Aurora is also home to twenty-two private schools, a branch of the
Waubonsee Community College (located downtown), and the main campus of
Aurora University.
Landmarks
The city is the location of the
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) and
Aurora University. A Non-profit Organization
Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple of Greater Chicago is a major
Hindu temple and an Islamic mosque are located near IMSA. Aurora also has its own zoo,
Phillips Park Zoo. Aurora's Downtown is full of arcitectual land marks as well as historic places.
The Phillips Park 'Sunken Garden'.
Museums
★
Aurora Historical Society
★
Aurora Regional Fire Museum
★ The Aurora Public Arts Commission
★
SciTech Interactive Science Museum.
★ David L. Pierce Art and History Center
Downtown Aurora
Downtown Aurora is home to the
Paramount Arts Centre, a large live performance theater on the
National Register of Historic Places, and the Hollywood Casino. There is the Leland Tower, a former hotel which was the tallest building in Illinois outside the Chicago city limits. It is also on the National Register of historic places. Also located downtown is the main building of Aurora Public Library and a branch campus of
Waubonsee Community College. Downtown Alive, a festival that includes live music and a variety of food booths, is held every Friday night in the summer. Roughly 8,000-10,000 people attend every Friday night.
Downtown Aurora also hosts the annual
Midwest Literary Festival during the second weekend in September. The Geneva Hotel was once the site of a debate in which
Abraham Lincoln participated during his unsuccessful run for the
United States Senate. The Riverfront Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater that has held a storefront location in downtown Aurora since 1978.
[2]
Sports
Aurora was once home to the Aurora Islanders/Blues/Foxes, a minor league baseball franchise that played from 1910-1915 in the Illinois-Wisconsin League. Their most famous player was
Casey Stengel, who played one season with the team before being bought by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Stengel Batted .352 and was the batting champion of the league for 1911, and also led the league with 50 stolen bases and had 27 outfield assists. The team played in a stadium on the west side in the former riverview park.
Fastpitch softball has been in Aurora since World War II and gained popularity in 1950 when the Aurora Sealmasters finished fifth in the nation. The Sealmasters went on to win National Championships in 1959, 1961, 1965 and 1967 and World Championships in 1966 and 1968.
Stonebridge Country Club, on Auroras far northeast side was home to the
LPGA Keebler-Kellogg classic from 2002-2004. Stonebridge was also a course in the 1991-1995 Mens Senior PGA tour.
Aurora University has Mens and Womens Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field and Cross Country. It also has a men's football and baseball team, as well as women's softball and volleyball teams. Aurora University athletics are division III.
High school athletics are a major event in the city, as East and West Aurora High Schools have been rivals in all sports for over 100 years.
Climate
The annual precipitation for Aurora is about 40 inches. The record high for Aurora is 111 °F, set back on July 14, 1936. The record low is -26 °F, set back on January 20, 1985. The average high temperature for Aurora in July is 84 °F, the average January low is 10 °F.
On July 17-18, 1996, a major flood struck Aurora, with 16.9 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, which is an Illinois state record, and the second highest ever nationally. Flooding occurred in almost every low lying area, and in the Fox river valley. The flooding was just as bad in Blackberry creek, on Aurora's far west side.
Aurora has not been struck by any major tornadoes in recent history, although they occur in the area annually. The city can still receive heavy snowfall and experiences blizzards periodically.
Geography
Aurora is located at (41.759879, -88.298482).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 102.1
km² (39.4
mi²). 99.8 km² (38.5 mi²) of it is land and 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (2.26%) is water.
While the city has traditionally been considered as being in
Kane County, Illinois (and in fact its downtown is still entirely in that county), Aurora is one of only three cities in Illinois where the city limits actually cover parts of four counties (the others are
Barrington Hills &
Centralia, Illinois):
Kane,
DuPage,
Kendall, and
Will.
Regions of Aurora
Aurora is generally divided into three regions, though politically the city is divided into several wards.
★ The 'West Side' is all of Aurora west of the
Fox River
★ The 'East Side',is the city east of the river excluding the DuPage County part.
★ 'Fox Valley', also referred to as the 'Far East Side' is the DuPage County part of the city. This is kind of a misnomer due to the fact that this region is not on the Fox. In fact, some parts lie in the
DuPage watershed instead of the Fox watershed. It is actually nicknamed as such due to the proximity of the area to Fox Valley Mall; one of the first housing developments to be constructed simultaneously with the mall in Aurora is the "Fox Valley Villages".
Infrastructure
Transportation
The city is the final stop of the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe line of the
Metra commuter rail system, allowing rail service into
Chicago. In addition, Aurora manages the southern parking lot of the Metra station at Illinois Route 59. The northern lot is managed by neighboring
Naperville. The city uses pace bus for public busing. Along with
Metra trains and pace buses, greyhound buses also stop at the Aurora transportation center. Aurora does not currently have a stop for
Amtrak trains, as the old station where they did stop closed in the 1980s.
Aurora Airport
Aurora Airport is a general aviation airport located in Sugar Grove, IL just outside of Aurora, Illinois. Although the airport is located within Sugar Grove, it is operated by the City of Aurora. It is seen in the movie
Wayne's World.
Healthcare
Aurora currently has two hospitals, one on the west side, Mercy Center for Healthcare Services, and one on in fox valley, Rush Copley Memorial Hospital. Aurora at one point had three hospitals, St. Joeseph Hospital, on the west side, St. Charles hospital, in uptown, and Copley Memorial Hospital, on the east side. St Joeseph and St, Charles hospitals have been converted into living centers, and the old Copley hospital, which was one of the largest hospitals in the area, sits vacant. The city of Aurora recently demolished the old smokestacks from the hospital, as they were starting to crumble and fall down. Dreyer Medical also has several clinics in the city. Edward Hospital in nearby
Naperville also serves parts of the city of Aurora.
Neighborhoods
★ 'Near East Side'
★ 'Near West Side': The residential neighborhood is generally well maintained with expensive older homes.
★ 'Pigeon Hill'
★ 'Frontenac'
★ 'Exposition View'
★ 'Riddle Highlands': is located on the West Side, off of Lake Street and Illinois Ave. It’s a very charming section of the city, with large, older homes dating back to the early 1900s. Mature trees line the streets and most lawns are neatly manicured.
★ 'Scraper-Moecherville'
★ 'Newport Hill'
★ 'Marywood'
★ 'Southpark'
★ 'Downtown': Historic downtown is the heart of Aurora and is home to a number of large historic buildings dating back to the early 1900s. Downtown is located 3 miles South of Interstate 88. Much of downtown Aurora was developed in the lates 1800s and houses several pieces of impressive architecture. Downtown Aurora's declined began in the late 1970s but of late is the home of several new developments including the River Street Plaza Condo development and Downer Place Lofts. Many new businesses have opened with success, along with the Hollywood Casino. A major hotel and high rise condos are planned for the East Bank on the east side of downtown. Downtown Aurora is the home of the famous LeLand Hotel, a 22 story building built in 1921, which housed the Sky Club, a former Blues recording studio. The building once was the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago. Today its used as apartments.
★ 'Uptown' :The center of Aurora's strong Hispanic culture. The area was an area just east of downtown, booming with large homes and bustling shops in the first half of the nineteenth century. Today, some old storefronts are still there.
★ 'White Eagle': is located at the most Southeastern portion of the city. Although, most residents consider this to be Naperville, its technically Aurora. In the early days of this development, the residents wanted to be considered Naperville, so the mayor at that time, cut off all city services to prove his point, that White Eagle is in fact in the City of Aurora. White Eagle is a very wealthy and upscale area. Most homes are valued at well over a million dollars.
★ 'Oakhurst'
★ 'Patersonville'
★ ' Westwood': A predominantly African American community on the west side, west of the Italian Neighborhood.
★ 'Stonebridge': is the most wealthy area of Aurora. Its located along Indian Trail Rd and Eola Rd on the city's Far East Side. This is also one of the newest sections of the city. With homes well over a million dollars, its residents have an average household income of $ 112,800 and an average household net worth of $ 165,112.00. The Stonebridge area is also home to the Stonebridge Golf Course. Which was the home of PGA for several years in a row.
★ 'Orchard Valley'
During the 20th century, there was a "Dutchtown" neighborhood for German immigrants, a "Frogtown" neighborhood for French immigrants, and a neighborhood south of downtown on the west side for Italian immigrants. Pigeon Hill was mainly an area for Romanian and other Eastern European immigrants. Pigeon Hill is the only neighborhood generally still referred to as that name, and virtually none of those cultures still inhabit those neighborhoods today. White Eagle, Oakhurst, Stonebridge, Orchard Valley and Ginger Woods are the more wealthier areas of the city.
Crime
Aurora has developed a reputation of being a crime ridden city, although through several recent police crackdowns in the past few years, crime has gone down below national average.
Several street gangs inhabit Aurora, mainly the
Latin Kings, the
Insane Deuces, and the
Vice Lords. Ambrose, and
Gangster Disciples also have presence in the city. During the mid 90's, the Insane Deuces had several wars with the Latin Kings and the Vice Lords. The Insane Deuces initiated an alliance with Ambrose, and together the two gangs went to war with the Satan Disciples and the Manic Latin Disciples, wiping out the two gangs from the area. In July 2007, the Aurora Police Department and the FBI conducted a sweep and arrested 31 alleged gang members suspected of 22 murders dating back to the mid 1990s.
:''Source:
[1], Year:
2005'' number of crimes per 100,000
Demographics
'City of Aurora
Population by year' [3][3] |
| 1850 | 1,200 |
| 1870 | 11,162 |
| 1890 | 20,000 |
| 1900 | 24,147 |
| 1910 | 29,800 |
| 1920 | 36,300 |
| 1930 | 46,589 |
| 1940 | 47,200 |
| 1950 | 50,600 |
| 1960 | 63,715 |
| 1970 | 74,200 |
| 1980 | 81,293 |
| 1990 | 100,279 |
| 2000 | 142,990 |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 142,990 people, 46,489 households, and 34,215 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,432.9/km² (3,711.5/mi²). There were 48,797 housing units at an average density of 489.0/km² (1,266.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.07%
White, 11.06%
African American, 0.36%
Native American, 3.06%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 14.52% from
other races, and 2.90% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 32.56% of the population.
There were 46,489 households out of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were
married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 35.9% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $54,861, and the median income for a family was $61,113. Males had a median income of $41,429 versus $30,150 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $22,131. About 6.2% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
Sports
★
Chick Hearn, Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn, (1916-2002), famous sportscaster, grew up in Aurora.
★
Kurt Becker, former
NFL player for the
Chicago Bears.
★
Brad Childress, current
NFL coach of the
Minnesota Vikings.
★
Rich Becker, former
MLB player for the
Minnesota Twins, and other major league teams.
★
Kenny Battle, former
NBA player.
★
Don Beebe, former
NFL wide receiver.
★
Joe Krakoski, former
NFL linebacker.
★
Mark Catlin, former College Football Coach.
★
Jim Platt, College Basketball Coach.
★
Bob Kipper, former
MLB reliver.
★
Chris Ziemann,
NFL player.
★ Mike Small,
PGA golfer.
★
Quavas Kirk, Major League Soccer player.
★
Zachary Taylor Davis, architect of
Old Comiskey Park and
Wrigley Field.
★
Josh Harmony, professional skateboarder.
Entertainment
★
Clive Cussler, author.
★
Kimberly Donley, adult model and actress.
★
Andrea Evans, actress.
★
Henry Gale, author.
★
Gene Greene, former ragtime entertainer.
★
M. Miriam Herrera, author and poet.
★
Dave Johnston,
banjoist and
singer for the
bluegrass group
Yonder Mountain String Band.
★
Elizabeth Linington, former author.
★
Randy Shilts, author and journalist.
★
Carl Thomas, R&B singer.
Politics and Law
★
Charles Henry Dietrich, former governer of
Nebraska.
★
Linda Chapa LaVia, member of the
Illinois House of Representatives.
★
Chris Lauzen, member of the
Illinois State Senate.
★
Scott Palmer, Chief of Staff to United States Representative Dennis Hastert.
★
Frank R. Reid, U.S. Representative from Illinois.
★
Roy Solfisburg, former
Chief Justice of Illinois.
★
Ira Clifton Copley, former United States statesman and newspaper publisher.
★
Dennis Hastert, Former Speaker of the House.
Other
★
James Compton, former president and CEO of the
Chicago Urban League.
★
G. David Tilman, ecologist.
★
Nathaniel (Popp), the current archbishop of the
Orthodox Church in America's Romanian Episcopate.
★
Edna Murray, Depression-era outlaw.
★
Dion O'Banion, mobster.
★
Jeffrey Skilling, former
CEO of
Enron Corporation.
★
Tom Skilling, ''
Chicago Tribune'' and
WGN-TV meteorologist
★
John Drury, longtime anchor of the Chicago 'Eyewitness News' on the Chicago ABC affiliate.
★
Walter E. Truemper, American war hero.
★
Lester W. Weber, American war hero.
Film and Television
★
Wayne's World (1992) The movie was not filmed in Aurora, but was about two men, Wayne Campbell (
Mike Myers), and Garth Algar (
Dana Carvey) who lived in Aurora .
★
Prison Break The hit
FOX Network TV show has several references about Aurora, sometimes multiple times in an episode, as the show is filmed in the area.
References
★
Aurora, Illinois in the Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago
★
Aurora Fire Department history honoring its 150th anniversary, in 2006.
★
[4]
Notes
1. 95.9 The River. Scott Childers. WERV-FM, IL. 07-July-2006.
2. Riverfront Playhouse Official Site
3. United States Census Bureau. [2]
External links
★
Official City of Aurora website
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