The Tanner House Independence Day ringing bells event will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fourth of July at the Tanner House, 305 Cedar Street, Aurora. The 53rd annual ringing of our historic bells by the children of Aurora will begin promptly at 1 p.m.. There will be a mini blues concert by the composer of Blues for Aurora, Bradley Keven Green, and an all-ages treasure hunt.
There will be a visit with Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and a teenage daughter of the Tanner family c.1860
Due to the coronavirus pandemic we will not have the traditional picnic, petting zoo, magician performance, pie-eating contest or tours of the house, which remains temporarily closed. Masks will not be required for the fully vaccinated, although we do request everyone to observe social distancing.
• The gift shop and a new exhibit of artifacts are open at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place Hours are Wednesday-Saturdays, noon-4 p.m..
The exhibit, entitled “Our Favorite Things”, is comprised of selected artifacts from previous exhibits as well as seldom-seen items taken out of storage for the display and recently-donated artifacts. Among these are the Arenkill’s Loan Bank shop sign from 11 North Broadway in downtown, and the drafting table of Aurora architect John Edward Minott who designed buildings such as the first central fire station and the Hobbs Building, both known for their distinctive onion domes.
• The 1857 Tanner House Museum remains closed until further notice due to concerns of Covid-19. “There simply isn’t enough room inside to allow social distancing during tours,” said executive director John Jaros. “This is a Victorian-era house and the interior spaces are quite compressed. That works well in some respects, for conserving heat in the Winter for example, but it really keeps people close together and we are waiting for more certainty about the public health picture before reopening.”
A video tour of the House is available on our website: www.aurorahistory.net/tanner-tour.
—Aurora Historical Society