Monday, June 07, 2004
City of Aurora receives Community Legacy Award
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The “City of Spires,” Aurora, Ind., is this year's recipient of Historic Southern Indiana’s Community Legacy Award. Leslie Townsend, program coordinator for Historic Southern Indiana , presented the award to Aurora Mayor Donnie Hastings in a ceremony at 4:30 p.m. (EST) Monday, June 7, at the Lions Building, corner of Second and Main streets in Aurora. The annual award recognizes a southern Indiana community for outstanding achievements in preservation, enhancement, and promotion of its distinctive heritage. “Aurora exemplifies all of the qualities that are part of the Community Legacy Award,” Townsend said. Located on the Ohio River, roughly 35 miles west of Cincinnati, Aurora’s nickname, “City of Spires,” recognizes the many church steeples that are part of the city’s landscape. Aurora’s preservation and revitalization efforts include renovating City Hall, the oldest continuously operating city hall in Indiana; revitalizing and promoting Main Street and the Historic District; obtaining a grant to maintain the historic character of several buildings; expanding riverfront development; and hosting heritage-related festivals. As the 2004 Community Legacy Award-winner, Aurora received $1,000 in support of heritage-related projects and a plaque of achievement for public display. The city was selected by a panel of judges comprised of representatives of Historic Southern Indiana, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the Indiana Department of Commerce, Division of Community Development and Division of Tourism, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Previous recipients include West Baden Springs, Madison, Orleans, and Rising Sun. Historic Southern Indiana, a heritage-based regional outreach program of University of Southern Indiana, supports a coalition of individuals and agencies committed to preservation, development, and promotion of the cultural, historic, and natural resources of southern Indiana. Since 1986 it has offered a variety of programs and projects to improve the quality of life in the 26 southernmost counties of the state. |
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