Aurora

Aurora is a home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Adams County, and Douglas County, in north-central Colorado, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, Aurora recorded 386,261 residents: 336,035 in Arapahoe County, 47,720 in Adams County, and 2,506 in Douglas County. It's Colorado's third-largest city and the 51st-most-populous in the U.S. Situated directly east of Denver, the city grew from a modest farming settlement into a major metropolitan hub, shaped by military bases, post-war expansion, and one of the nation's most significant medical research campuses. The city spans more than 165 square miles across all three counties.

Early History and Founding

Before European settlement, the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) tribes inhabited these lands. France claimed them in 1682, but they became part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

Aurora started in 1890 as Fletcher, named after Denver businessman Donald Fletcher who saw potential in the real estate. He and his partners staked out four square miles east of Denver, but hard times came after the Silver Crash of 1893. The town boasted just 39 residents, a water system in progress, and 14 new brick homes with indoor plumbing, a real luxury for the time and climate. One of Fletcher's nine surviving homes still features indoor plumbing and an upstairs bathroom.

May 5, 1903 marked Fletcher's incorporation. Then Fletcher left town, burdening the community with enormous water debt. Voters decided the name had to go. In 1907, they renamed it Aurora after one of the subdivisions. The post office opened January 15, 1908. Adams County's creation in 1902 split the community in half between two counties.

By 1928, Aurora had grown past 2,000 residents and the Colorado Secretary of State recognized it as a city. Ranching families like the DeLaneys had raised horses, dairy cattle, and livestock here. The DeLaney Farm Historic District preserves that agricultural heritage from the 1880s onward. Today, Aurora has 34 historic landmarks, 2 historic districts, and 6 cultural heritage sites.

Military Legacy

The military shaped Aurora from its earliest days. For nearly a century, countless service members and their families have called it home.

Army General Hospital #21 opened in 1918, later renamed Fitzsimons Army Hospital. The U.S. government expanded and upgraded it in 1941, just in time for World War II casualties. It was named to honor Lieutenant William Thomas Fitzsimons, the first U.S. Army officer killed in World War I. Several presidents visited. President Warren G. Harding came in 1923, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1936. The hospital was where 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was born in 1943. President Dwight D. Eisenhower spent seven weeks recovering from a heart attack here in the fall of 1955.

Lowry Air Force Base opened in 1938 between Aurora and Denver. After closure in 1994, it became a master-planned community with residential, commercial, business, and educational spaces. In 1955, it temporarily housed the U.S. Air Force Academy, with the first class arriving July 11, 1955.

The Army Air Corps built Buckley Field in 1942. It's been renamed several times: Naval Air Station, Buckley Air National Guard Base, Buckley Air Force Base, and finally Buckley Space Force Base. It's home to the Buckley Garrison and the 140th Wing Colorado Air National Guard, making it Aurora's largest employer.

The Colorado Freedom Memorial was dedicated in 2013 to honor Colorado military personnel killed in combat.

Growth and Demographics

Aurora grew slowly in Denver's shadow but became the fastest-growing city in the U.S. during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While Denver faced housing shortages, Aurora was a relatively homogenous suburb of just 11,421 people in 1950. Then it exploded. The population skyrocketed in the 1960s and more than doubled between 1970 and 1980.

In 2010, Aurora became Colorado's first large "majority-minority" city, with roughly 53 percent of residents identifying as something other than white. More than 28 percent are Latino, 44 percent white, 6.5 percent Asian, and 16.5 percent Black. About 20 percent of residents were born outside the United States, mostly from Mexico and Ethiopia, and a third speak a language other than English at home.

Military history shaped the city's character in important ways. Integrated housing on base, secure employment, and private housing incentives helped build a different kind of community than many U.S. cities. These military perks may have countered the discrimination seen across America in housing and employment. Almost 10 percent of Aurora's population are veterans.

A council/manager form of government runs the city, combining elected officials' political leadership with an appointed manager's expertise. Aurora's four school districts and eight higher learning campuses serve residents and the surrounding region. The city provides quality education access across the community.

The Anschutz Medical Campus

One of Aurora's most significant modern achievements was transforming the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center into a world-class health and research hub. Congress placed Fitzsimons on the Base Realignment and Closure list in 1995. Officials from the Health Sciences Center, the University of Colorado Hospital, and the City of Aurora pitched the Department of Defense on creating an academic health center using part of the decommissioned facility.

After closure in 1999, the campus took its current name in 2006 when the Anschutz family donated $91 million to construct the Anschutz Centers for Advanced Medicine, including outpatient and cancer pavilions, plus an inpatient pavilion. The combined 578-acre CU Anschutz and Fitzsimons Life Science District is undergoing a $4.3 billion renovation, the largest medical-related redevelopment project in the United States.

University of Colorado Anschutz is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region. It houses professional schools, multiple centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked hospitals: UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado. These facilities handle more than 2.9 million patient visits yearly. Academically, CU Anschutz serves 4,500 students across more than 40 degree programs in six schools and colleges. The campus pulled in a record $910 million in research funding for 2023-24, generating a $13.5 billion overall economic impact for Colorado.

U.S. News & World Report named UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital the top hospital in Colorado in 2025.

The 2012 Aurora Theater Shooting

On July 20, 2012, Aurora experienced one of Colorado's deadliest mass shootings. Twelve people died and 70 were wounded inside the Century 16 movie theater during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Twenty-four-year-old James Holmes entered Theater 9 through a parking lot exit, threw gas canisters, and opened fire on the audience. He wore a gas mask and black combat gear, so some people initially thought it was a stunt for the film. It wasn't. He fired at random into the crowd.

It was deadlier than the 1999 Columbine shooting, which killed 12 high school students and a teacher. Holmes had enrolled in a Ph.D. neuroscience program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in 2011 but dropped out after failing an important exam in June 2012.

The 2015 trial resulted in 12 consecutive life sentences without parole. A memorial garden for the victims sits adjacent to City Hall.

Recreation and Culture

Aurora's climate is mild and dry, with more than 300 days of sunshine yearly. Five golf courses, two reservoirs, 103 parks, and over 5,000 acres of open space and trails dot the city. At the foot of the Rocky Mountains, it serves as a gateway to Colorado's attractions.

The Regional Transportation District's light rail was extended to southwestern Aurora on November 17, 2006. The H Line stops at Dayton and Nine Mile Stations. On February 24, 2017, the R Line extended to Peoria Station in the northwest, where riders connect to the A Line running between Union Station in Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport.

The Aurora Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1978, presents a full season of orchestra concerts plus chamber ensemble performances. The Aurora Public Library operates four main branches and hosts various events throughout the year. The Aurora History Museum is the city's primary cultural institution, displaying nearly 100 historic photos, military artifacts, and a fully restored 1913 trolley that once ran along Colfax Avenue.

Five stars appear on the city seal, carried over from a 1950s Municipal Building emblem. They represent home, church, school, business, and industry. Those five elements, the city believed, were essential to building a healthy, progressive community.