Op-ed: Why doesn’t Aurora have a downtown?

Article by J. Kudley, director of the Aurora Historical Society & Museum

Driving through the “center of town” have you ever taken the time to gaze upon Aurora’s “village green,” the grassy area in front of The Church in Aurora and town hall? Or are you too busy focusing on the traffic lights at the y-intersection of 306 and 43, trying to avoid the cars in the wrong lane suddenly? Certainly, visitors to Aurora do not realize that they just drove through Aurora’s “downtown.” The heart of Colonial New England villages was the town square around which were small shops, meeting house, and common grazing ground. This pattern was replicated throughout the Western Reserve and can be seen in communities like Hudson. So, why does Aurora not have a “Town Center”?