The City of Aurora Historic Preservation Commission sponsors the Cultural Heritage Sites Program by recognizing historically significant sites, buildings or structures that are not eligible for designation as Local, State or National Register Landmarks.
A site and/or structure (property) may qualify for designation as an Aurora Cultural Heritage Site if it meets one or more of the following criteria but lacks sufficient integrity (i.e., it has been significantly altered from its original historic condition) to support its designation as an Aurora Historic Landmark.
The following criteria are used for designation as a Cultural Heritage Site:
- The property exemplifies or reflects the broad cultural, political, economic, or social history of the community.
- The property is identified with a historic person or historic group significant to local history.
- The property embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type inherently valuable to the study of a period, style, method of construction, or indigenous materials or craftsmanship.
- The property is representative as the work of a master builder or architect.
- The property has the possibility to yield important archaeological information.
The property should be historic (i.e., more than 50 years old), but younger sites with exceptional significance to the community may be considered.
The overall objective of the Cultural Heritage Sites Program is to build community awareness of the cultural heritage values of significant sites across the City, and to ensure that residents and visitors gain a better understanding and a richer appreciation of a particular place and the people associated with it.
Cultural heritage significance is a concept which helps us understand the value of specific places and the people associated with those places. Cultural Heritage Sites that are likely to be of significance are those that help us understand the past, enrich the present and contribute to the education of future generations.
