Aurora History Museum & Historic Sites

10/25/2026

🎉 Happy Historic Site Sunday! Today, we’re highlighting the Coal Creek Schoolhouse!

Built in the mid-1920s after the original school burned down, this one-room schoolhouse served children in the rural area east of Aurora. Many students rode mules or horses to school and left them in the stable behind the building. Grades one through nine were taught here, and the final graduating class in 1960 had just two students!

But the schoolhouse was more than a place to learn. It was a community gathering space, hosting holiday programs and Saturday night dances.

Coal Creek was built by area neighbors and is typical of early 20th century schoolhouses. There was no running water indoors, but it had two outhouses and a water pump outside; the windmill provided the power that made the pump work. Local, unmarried women worked as teachers for the school, and many of them lived in an apartment in the building's basement while they were teaching.

Designated an Aurora Historic Landmark in 2001, the schoolhouse was moved to its current location in 2011. Today, you can see it at the corner of First Avenue and Chambers Road, right next to DeLaney Historic Farm.

Have you visited this little piece of Aurora’s rural history?

[Image Description: Students at Coal Creek Schoolhouse c. 1955]

10/24/2026

You are invited to connect with Filipino Culture this Friday!

Friday, October 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Lyn A. Buti will share an introduction to Tboli culture and tradtions. Participants will explore Tboli history, dance, clothing and adornment and rituals. Through storytelling and demonstration, Lyn will share the meaning and significance behind these practices.

$5 for adults, $1 for kids and free for members of the Aurora History Museum. This program is open to everyone! Tickets available at the door and through AuroraGov.org/MuseumEvents

[Image Description: Lyn. A. Buti in a formal outfit creating smoke]

10/23/2026

Just two more weeks to see “Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History” at the Aurora History Museum!

Here is one of the local stories we have added to the exhibit: While over one million Black Americans and tens of thousands of minority service members fought during
WWII, they were largely confined to separate units.

In 1942, the Army Air Forces authorized Black soldiers to train as fighter armorers for the first time. As Buckley Field housed America’s largest fighter aircraft armament school, the 86th Aviation Squadron was created as an all-Black training unit. Roughly 600 Black draftees and recruits were stationed in Aurora. They endured grueling, round-the-clock training shifts (covering synchronization, explosives and aircraft machine guns).

These men learned complex, high-stakes military skills while living in segregated barracks, they ate in their own mess hall, were treated exclusively by fellow Black medical teams and faced strict racial barriers on base.

Visit the exhibit to see photos and more stories like this now through November 7. Admission is $5 for adults, $1 for kids and free for members of the Aurora History Museum

[Image Description: Graphic for Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History exhibit]

10/22/2026

We did it! Aurora has officially been designated an American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service!

After three years of work, the small but mighty Historic Preservation team earned this designation for the city.

This national recognition celebrates Aurora’s extraordinary contributions to the WWII home front and our community’s continued commitment to preserving that history.

During the war, more than 100,000 service members trained at Lowry and Buckley Fields, while Fitzsimons General Hospital cared for thousands of wounded military personnel, including casualties from Pearl Harbor. Across Aurora, residents supported the war effort through victory gardens, scrap drives, war bond fundraising, and volunteer efforts.

Today, we continue to honor this legacy through our historic landmarks, museum and educational programs.

We are proud to help preserve and share Aurora’s WWII history for generations to come!

Thank you, Chris Geddes and Kristen Steadman for making this happen.

[image description: two women standing in front of Building 500 at CU Anschutz]

10/21/2026

10/20/2026

Looking for something different to do after work TONIGHT? We have a few last-minute tickets available for a night at the Aurora History Museum!

For just $5 per adult, discover the fascinating story of three Filipinos recruited to perform their culture in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in 1899.

While you’re here, explore our exhibits on Aurora’s Filipino community, Black history in Colorado, and Aurora’s history, including a historic trolley car that once ran along Colfax Avenue!

Tonight only! Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Aurora History Museum
15051 E. Alameda Parkway

Tickets are available at the door or online: https://tinyurl.com/mr26bf8f



Image credit: Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave

[image description: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and congress of rough riders of the world poster]

10/18/2026

Last weekend we had a great time showing people around the Historic DeLaney Homestead and teaching the kids how to play graces. Our final historic site open days at DeLaney for 2026 will be Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

[video description: children playing graces with the round barn in the background. Inaudible chatter]

10/17/2026

Calling all gamers! Have you seen our display at the Aurora Municipal Center?

Video games have become an integral thread in the fabric of our culture over the past 50 years. They appeal to people of every age and background, are adapted for educational and military use, and have launched a multi-billion dollar industry.

Physicists and engineers developed some of the earliest video games on computers, and this popularity soon expanded into arcades with games like PONG. While many companies released inexpensive systems to capitalize on the PONG craze, other consoles such as the Atari and Intellivision became successful with better graphics and expanded game libraries. By 1983, the oversaturation of the market with huge numbers of consoles and poorly designed games led to a video game crash. In 1985, however, Nintendo released the wildly popular Nintendo Entertainment System with its iconic hero Mario in Super Mario Bros. After this pivotal moment, the gaming industry soared to new heights.

What was the first video game you ever played?

[image description: display cases filled with vintage video games including Commodore, Nintendo, and Sonic]

10/16/2026

The Philippines is a massive archipelago of over 7,000 islands, featuring a landscape of rugged mountains and active volcanoes. It sits right on the tectonically active Pacific Ring of Fire.

The nation is divided into three main regions: Luzon in the north, which serves as the political and economic core; the central Visayas, a cluster of islands that acted as the initial contact point for Spanish exploration; and Mindanao in the south, known for its rugged terrain and distinct Islamic cultural heritage.

Its geography makes it a natural crossroads, acting as a strategic gateway between the Pacific Ocean and the rest of Asia. This central location has turned the islands into a cultural melting pot where local Malay roots have blended with influences from Spanish, American and Chinese traders, explorers and colonizers over centuries.

Visit the “Mosaic of Cultures: Aurora’s Filipino Community” on view now at the Aurora History Museum to learn more!

[Image Description: museum wall with map of Philippines highlighting various things]

10/14/2026

Aurora's Historic Growth. Post 24 of 25

Aurora Town Halls.

Aurora Municipal Building
1470 Emporia St.
(1970-1976)
City offices formerly located at 1591 Fulton St. and 9859E. 16th Ave. moved into the Aurora Building at 1470 Emporia St. in September 1970. At the time, the six-story structure was the tallest building in the area. Rather than paying for offices in buildings scattered throughout downtown Aurora, the city decided to consolidate offices in one location while the police department and courts remained at 9859 E 16th Ave. When city offices moved to the Camelot Il building on Havana Street in
1976, the first floor of the Aurora Building was used by the Aurora Police Department.

Aurora Municipal Building
1470 Havana St.
(1976-2003)
By early 1976, city of Aurora employees were scattered in numerous offices throughout Aurora. After considering building, buying or renting a larger space at 17 different sites, city council approved a lease/purchase agreement for a building on Havana Street. The high-rise office buildings known as Camelot 1 and Camelot Il were constructed in the early 1970s as part of a larger complex that also included the nearby Buckingham Square Mall. The city of Aurora moved its offices to Camelot Il in July 1976.

Aurora Municipal Center
15151 E. Alameda Parkway
(2003-present)
Space limitations at Aurora's municipal building on Havana Street led city officials to explore the construction of a new city hall that would possess timeless characteristics to last at least 50 years, Denver companies Barber Architecture and Weitz Construction were chosen for the $66.5 million, 260,000 square foot building that would be constructed on the same site as the Aurora Municipal Justice Center: The space was to be as green as possible" with a lawn concept to serve as an "elegant foreground for building facades, as well as flexible open space for community gatherings." Aurora Municipal Center opened in February 2003.

[Image description: Aurora City Hall, 14th and Emporia. City of Aurora, Municipal Building, 1470 S. Havana. Aurora Municipal Building 15151 E Alameda Parkway]