March 2: Free Birthday Events for Aurora!

Two free events will celebrate the 175th birthday of the city of Aurora on March 2, 2012.
A postal cancellation ceremony will take place at 2:00pm at the downtown post office, commemorating the establishment, on March 2, 1837, of the Aurora Post Office. Within a setting of postal memorabilia jointly curated by the Post Office and the Aurora Historical Society, postal employees will offer a commemorative postmark saluting Aurora’s 175-year history. Entertainment will include a reading of the 1837 letter announcing the establishment of the office, as well as original music written about Aurora. Postmaster Jackie Sanchez will speak.

The commemorative postmark is free, however it can only be placed on First-Class Mail postage. Collectors and souvenir hunters may bring their own envelopes with first class stamp affixed, or they may choose from a set of four pictorial envelopes featuring famous images of Aurora which the historical society will offer at a nominal price. The cancellation may also be obtained for a period of 30 days following the ceremonies by submitting a request to the post office. After thirty days the equipment is destroyed, ensuring the integrity of the cancellation. Cancelled pictorial envelopes will be for sale at the Aurora Historical Society gift shop throughout the year. Seewww.aurorahistory.net for details.

The post office is located at 525 North Broadway, 60505. The cancellation activities will be conducted from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

A birthday party to celebrate the 175th anniversary will be held from 5:00 to 8:00pm at the Aurora Transportation Center. Sponsored jointly by the City of Aurora and the Aurora Historical Society, the event will include refreshments, music, historic characters and the Goddess Aurora, making her first appearance of the year. The historical society is seeking Aurora’s oldest citizens, pioneer families, and residents who have significant length of residence to be honored by the mayor. Please visit www.aurorahistory.net to learn more about the criteria and how to submit a nomination.

The Aurora Transportation Center is at 233 North Broadway, 60505. Parking will be free that evening.

Both events are free and open to the public.

*Nov. 4: Benefit for Aurora Hispanic Heritage

Mexican Immigration Exhibit Extended to November 18, 2011

The exhibit “Creating Mexican American Identities: Multiple Voices, Shared Dreams” has been extended until November 18 at the Aurora Historical Society gallery on the second floor of the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 East Downer Place in Aurora.

Comprised of a traveling exhibit from the West Chicago City Museum and historic photos and text assembled by the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board, the exhibit features labels in both English and Spanish.

The exhibit traces Mexican immigration to the area back to the first wave of arrivals, who came in the 1910s and 1920s primarily to work for the railroad. The bulk of the early Mexican residents lived in railroad box cars converted to housing. Later, they moved into homes in the neighborhoods where they worked and raised their families. Their descendants still reside here, many having risen to prominence in the community.

Exhibit hours are noon-4:00pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Admission is free and free off-street parking is available across the street at the Downer/Stolp Parking Deck (have ticket stamped in gift shop). Teachers and scout leaders should call the Historical Society at 630-906-0650 to discuss group tours. More information is available at www.aurorahistory.net or www.facebook.com/aurorahistory.

The Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board will hold a benefit in the exhibit gallery on Friday, November 4 from 6:00-8:30pm, with live music, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $10 (under 18 free) and proceeds will go to the board’s Scholarship Fund. More information about the reception is available from Dee Basile at 630-256-3370 or at www.AuroraHispanicHeritage.com.

Aug 12: Aurora History Society exhibit opens at the DLP

Creating Mexican American Identities: Multiple Voices, Shared Dreams

Join us for a special exhibit opening!

Friday, August 12th, 2011
5:00-7:00 pm
20 E. Downer Place ("the DLP")

We know immigration is a hot topic these days but little did we realize it could lead to record-breaking attendance at our museum exhibits! The Luxembourg exhibit closed just a few days ago and was a blockbuster success. We are proud to follow it up with “Creating Mexican American Identities: Multiple Voices, Shared Dreams”, curated by the West Chicago City Museum and the Aurora Historical Society/Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board and created with funding by the History Channel and the Illinois Humanities Council.

Aurora and West Chicago were early hubs for many Mexican immigrants who were recruited to work for the railroad in the 1920s and made their first homes in box car camps. Since early immigrants rarely have a tradition of written history, the Mexican American story has been recorded here through loaned and donated photographs and oral histories.

We all will find much to reflect upon here.

The exhibit opens on Friday, August 12, 2011 with a free reception from 5:00-7:00pm at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 East Downer Place. There will be food from local Oaxacan restaurant La Palapa, music and a cash bar.

This is also the closing day of the immensely popular gallery show on the third floor, “Warm Light, Cool Shadows – the Life and Art of Ruth Van Sickle Ford”, so you can catch both exhibits AND our Civil War exhibit before visiting Aurora’s up-and-coming Restaurant Row for dinner. Just a suggestion!

The Mexican immigration exhibit will be up through October 15. Museum hours are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from Noon to 4:00pm. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. See www.aurorahistory.net or call (630) 906-0650.

Looking ahead, when the weather turns colder, plan to visit the Tanner House at Oak and Cedar for a thought-provoking and chilling brush with Victorian death culture in the sequel to last autumn’s sellout success. This year’s tour is titled “Death Comes to the Tanner House: the Séance”. For a sunnier experience, visit the Tanner House in December for the annual décor blowout, the Designer Holiday Showcase. All details at www.aurorahistory.net, where there’s also a nice slideshow of the Civil War weekend this summer!

Please feel free to contact Events@aurorahistory.netor call Event Chair Mary Clark Ormond at 630-859-3292! Best for the rest of the summer!

July 2 & 3: Civil War in Aurora*

URORA -- The ringing declarations of abolitionist Frederick Douglass proclaimed by television actor and native son Phil Van Lear, the tunes of the 1860s played on antique instruments by a 16-piece brass band, a conversation between Mary and Abraham Lincoln as they dress for a night of theater, and the idle chatter of soldiers keeping camp around smoky fires are some of the attractions of “The Civil War in Aurora,” sponsored by the Aurora Historical Society on July 2 and 3 on the grounds of the Tanner House Museum, a landmark 1857 building in one of Aurora’s oldest neighborhoods.
Reenactors will camp out on the grounds both days, and there will be demonstrations of period crafts such as wool-spinning, candle-making and blacksmithing. A 19th-century schoolmarm will educate and entertain children, and visitors will have free access to the Tanner House.
In the entertainment tent, headliners will include VanLear, recently seen on “Prison Break” and “Chicago Code,” the nationally-known Illinois 33rd Regiment Reenactor Band, and Max and Donna Daniels as Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln. Other entertainers will read historic letters from both battlefront and home front and perform music and dance of the period. Of special interest will be appearances by Aurora citizens whose letters and mementos of the Civil War have been researched by members of the Historical Society. Some of these individuals are Dr. Abner Hard, a surgeon with the 8th Cavalry whose field notes graphically depict his treatment of patients on the battlefield, and Cal Boger, an escaped slave who started a new life and a family dynasty in Aurora.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students. Two-day passes are $12 and $8. The Tanner House is located at Oak and Cedar Streets in Aurora.
For more information, please see www.aurorahistory.net or call Civil War Event at 630-859-3292.

May 13: Aurora Historical Society exhibit downtown Aurora

Luxembourg - USA: A Migration Story (and free Oberweis ice cream!)

Join us for a special exhibit opening!

Friday, May 13th, 2011
5:00-8:00 pm
20 E. Downer Place

Did you know that between 1850 and 1900, Aurora was one of the primary destinations of Luxembourgers coming to America? You'd be surprised how many local names have Luxembourger ancestry...Jungels, Hastert, Poss, Oberweis, Lies, and Petit are just a few examples.

The exhibit was funded and created by the government of Luxembourg, and was first shown at Ellis Island in 2007. This will be the first Illinois showing. The exhibit comes to us courtesy of the Luxembourg American Cultural Society.

Reulands will be catering the opening. Oberweis Dairy is providing free ice cream. Former Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert will be in attendance; as will Ethan Hastert, Honorary Consul for the Luxembourg Consulate at Chicago; and Kevin Wester, Executive Director of the Luxembourg American Cultural Society.

If you are unable to come to the opening, the exhibit will run from May 13 through July 31, 2011. The David L. Pierce Art and History Center is open Wednesday-Friday, 12 - 4 pm. For more information, call (630) 906-0650.

April 15: Civil War at 150 exhibit in downtown Aurora

The Aurora Public Art Commission and the Aurora Historical Society are teaming up to present a new exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

“If I should not write you again: Remembering life in Aurora during and following the Civil War” will be on display starting with a special opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 15 at the David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E. Downer Place. The event is free.

The exhibit will feature war-related items such as weaponry, photos and gear from local regiments, including a surgeon’s kit and field notes from Auroran Dr. Abner Hard, 8th Illinois Calvary unit; and the sword of Colonel Silas Miller of the 36th Illinois Infantry.

Artifacts from the home front on display will include images of Aurora in the mid-19th century, an 1860 Kane County map, clothing, tools and other household items of the era. Patrons also will be able to view historical treasures from Aurora’s former Grand Army of the Republic Post 20, such as the original charter, medals from various encampments, organization meeting minutes and photographs.

The Grand Army of the Republic, a national Civil War veterans’ organization, existed in Aurora from the 1860s to the 1920s. The GAR Memorial Hall, which was built in 1877-78, stands across the street from the Art & History Center.

The City of Aurora’s Public Art Commission (APAC) is seeking to raise at least $800,000 through public and private partnerships to complete both exterior and interior renovations at the GAR Memorial Hall. Once work is complete, the building will be opened as a veterans’ center and museum to learn about Aurora’s role in America’s wars and genealogical research.

People looking to make a donation to APAC’s GAR restoration effort can:

· Go online to the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley’s website at www.communityfoundationfrv.org/fund_profiles-aurora_art.asp;

· Send a check or money order to the Aurora Public Art Commission Fund, Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, 111 W. Downer Place, Aurora, IL 60506; or

· Call Aurora’s Customer Service Center at 630-256-INFO or call the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley at 630-896-7800.


The Civil War exhibit will be open to the public during regular gallery hours from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Friday through Jan. 20, 2012. Daily admission is free. For more information on the exhibit, visit the City’s website at www.aurora-il.org.