Former U.S. Post Office

Former U.S. Post Office. Downtown Heritage Tour. Aurora's east/west rivalry dates back to its beginnings. Arriving in 1834 from New York state, town founder Samuel McCarty constructed two mills on the east bank of the river, and the settlement of "McCarty Mills" grew up around them. The settlement took the name "Aurora" when an official U.S. Post Office was established here in 1837. The name was suggested as a tribute to Aurora, New York, located in an area from which many of the original settlers came. On the west side of the river, the village of "West Aurora" developed. The two united as the "City of Aurora" in 1857., The Post Office had no permanent home until this time, when Joseph Stolp donated land on the centrally-located Stolp Island. A temporary wooden structure was used until the Post Office moved into the first floor of the newly-constructed City Hall building in 1865. In 1895 a larger, separate Post Office facility was opened next door. , In 1932 a new Post Office building was erected on Benton Street near Stolp Avenue at a cost of $250,000. Among many interesting features of the building are the floors, which are constructed of two by fours cut into blocks with the ends up. This was done to reduce the negative impact of standing all day while sorting the mail. The rectangular shape of the building is offset by the repeating arched windows. The exterior also features terra cotta detail and gargoyle water spouts. Aurora's Post Office remained in this location until 1988 when it moved out of the downtown to a new facility on North Broadway.