Aurora, IL

Aurora's center occupies both banks of the Fox River and the island between them. Joseph and Samuel McCarty chose a bend in the river for a sawmill in 1834, using its drop to power the settlement's first industry. As communities grew separately on the east and west banks, rivalry made Stolp Island neutral ground for public buildings and private institutions. Bridges turned the island into their shared link. That geography still gives downtown an unusual form. Galena Boulevard crosses the river through the historic island, Broadway runs along the east bank, and River Street follows the west. Civic buildings, theaters, transit, and riverfront spaces occupy related but distinct sections around the water. The 1931 New York Street Memorial Bridge spans the full channel, with sculptures of Memory and Victory incorporated into its concrete pylons for World War I veterans.

ATTRMike Shadle / CC BY-SA 4.0

Industry soon expanded well beyond the first mill. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad reached Aurora in the 1850s, and its railcar construction and repair shops remained the city's largest employer until the 1960s. Aurora also became an early municipal user of electric street lighting. On November 8, 1881, sixteen arc lamps illuminated the city from seven towers, each 150 feet high; Aurora formalized the City of Lights nickname around 1908. Buildings on Stolp Island record the wealth and ambition of that era. The 1928 Leland Tower rose as a hotel and entertainment complex and now contains apartments. The 1931 Paramount Theatre, an elaborate movie palace at the island's east edge, reopened after renovation in 1978.

ATTRStephen Hanafin from Aurora, IL, United States / CC BY-SA 2.0

Aurora is now a large and economically varied Chicago-region city. In 2018-2022 employment data used for the city's current consolidated plan, education and health care accounted for 21 percent of jobs, manufacturing for 13 percent, and retail for 11 percent. Manufacturing remains substantial even though the railroad shops no longer dominate local employment. The Aurora Transportation Center, east of the river, is the outer terminal of Metra's BNSF line. That route runs nearly 38 miles to Chicago Union Station. Its terminal places regional rail beside a downtown that also functions as a theater district, civic center, and riverfront event area. Much of Aurora's civic and cultural activity returns to the river. The restored Paramount, which seats 1,885, presents theater, concerts, and classic films; nearby, the 98-seat Stolp Island Theatre adds a smaller performance space directly beside the Fox.

ATTRMHanleyEA / CC0

On the east bank, RiverEdge Park stands across Broadway from the transportation center and stays open year-round, with ticketed concerts and festivals from June through September. It reopened in June 2026 after a nearly $16 million expansion added capacity and new audience and backstage facilities. Across the water at 101 South River Street, Santori Library provides a makerspace, local-history and genealogy room, teen area, and study rooms. Within a short stretch, the Fox River that powered the McCarty sawmill still separates east from west, while bridges connect a rail terminal, an island theater district, a riverfront stage, and the city's main library.