The star and lighted tree on top of the Leland Tower in Aurora shine brightly this holiday season. Maintenance and improvements are the responsibility of the Aurora Downtown organization. New Christmas lights installation recently was performed by Apex Tower, which normally works on cell phone towers. Many lights had burned out so Apex did more than bring the electrical system up to date.
Gina Salamone is the chairperson for the Aurora Downtown Streetscape Committee (click here for article). She said that with the newer and brighter LED lights they can be seen from a long distance. The lights were purchased from the Windy City Lights of West Chicago, the supplier of all decorations for Downtown Aurora. Each strand is nine feet long. The star is 100 feet above the roof. Lights originally were placed on Leland Tower, a 22-story building, in the 1940s. Current lights went up in 2011. Photo taken from The Voice office on Lake Street in Aurora.