We had quite a booming year in downtown Aurora this year. We saw tremendous growth when our downtown continued its ascension. Looking back on the year, highlights are numerous, but none so many as the 16 grand openings within downtown Aurora.
In April, Aurora resident Teresa Fiehn Millies opened Arcana, a private artist and energy studio upstairs in the Sherer Block building at 15 W. Downer Place. If you recognize her name, Aurora Downtown hired Fiehn Millies for public art projects to add color and vibrancy to downtown such as a crocheted butterfly on the fence of Downer Place at Stolp Avenue and fabric wrapping the former trees at Bielman Park adjacent to Water Street Mall.
In June, Paramount School of the Arts opened to much applause under the direction of Shannon Cameron. The long-awaited vision of Paramount Theatre’s executive director, Tim Rater, offers Summer camps and performing arts classes year-round.
The Venue opened at 21 S. Broadway to bring a highly-anticipated live music listening room to the heart of downtown. The Venue’s stage welcomes a variety of musical genres and is becoming a regional destination, thanks to the Fox Valley Music Foundation.
Throughout the Summer, several businesses opened along Broadway, including The Cotton Seed Creative Exchange, Latrice Murphy Design and Photography, L & L Vintage, and Fonda mi Pueblito.
Charlie’s Silver Spoon Creamery opened in the long-shuttered Silver Plate building at the northeast corner of Downer Place and Stolp Avenue. What, for a handful of years, was a seasonal art display decorated by the Vacant Window Project is now a bustling storefront serving up more than a dozen rotating flavors of handmade ice cream.
In September, Warehouse 55 opened at 55 S. Lake Street. The vintage market shops started by Mark Allen bring together a wide mix of vendors that offer distinctive home goods, clothing, and furniture.
Gary Brown Art Gallery and Studio celebrated its opening at 7 S. Broadway during a busy First Fridays. The studio is now a favorite spot to visit during downtown events.
Later in the year, Society 57 opened at 100 S. River Street. The event space and full-time coffee shop is run by a nonprofit started by Scott Hodge and Tammy Helfrich of The Orchard Community Church. Named for the year that East and West Aurora became one city in 1857, Society 57 serves as a community gathering spot.
Just recently, Mangkuk Filipino Asian Fusion Restaurant opened at 210 E. Galena Boulevard and I of the Angeles, a tarot and reiki room, opened across the street a few months earlier at 217 E. Galena Boulevard.
Year’s end brought us the first phase of Yetee Station, an arcade at 102 E. Galena Boulevard, Crystal House engraving on LaSalle Street, and Amy Morton’s welcoming theater crowd dinner spot, Stolp Island Social, at 5 E. Galena Boulevard.
There is talk of more restaurants coming to Stolp Island. Meanwhile, more residential development is happening from Broadway to Stolp to Benton.
As downtown continues to grow into the New Year, we can appreciate many businesses that have called downtown Aurora home for many years. They might not be in the spotlight now, but they helped make this growth possible, and their dedication to downtown allowed for the renaissance.
New and old, our downtown is helping to build up our community; one that is second to none.
Marissa Amoni is the manager of Aurora Downtown, a nonprofit organization of business and property owners in Special Service Area #One. Aurora Downtown is host to more than two dozen events throughout the year. The first in 2020 will be First Fridays, February 7.