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Aurora
Denver's big eastern neighbor, spread over three counties. 1890 brick on Galena Street, postwar houses in Hoffman Heights and newer subdivisions to the south and east, with East Colfax as the old main street and Cherry Creek State Park on the southwest edge.
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Winter sun
Which driveways stay iced in December and which back yards keep the afternoon. Worth knowing before you fall for a house.
See how the winter sun falls on Aurora (opens in new tab)
Living in Aurora
Aurora is its own city, the big one directly east of Denver. Most of it sits in Arapahoe County, with slices in Adams and Douglas, and at about 163.6 square miles it covers more ground than any Colorado city but one. East Colfax Avenue is the old main street, I-70 and I-225 both run through town, and the city keeps going east past E-470 onto open prairie.
From Fletcher to Aurora
It started around 1890 as Fletcher, about four square miles of prairie platted by a Denver businessman named Donald Fletcher. The Silver Panic of 1893 left him broke, he left the state, and in 1907 residents voted to rename the town Aurora. The real growth came with the military: the Army hospital that became Fitzsimons opened in 1918, Lowry went up just across the Denver line in 1938, and Buckley Field followed in 1942. Fitzsimons closed in 1999, and the site is now the Anschutz Medical Campus, home to the University of Colorado Hospital since 2007.
Victorians on Galena, brick ranches in Hoffman Heights
The oldest houses are on Galena Street, just north of East Colfax. The Centennial House, a two-story brick Victorian built in 1890, is one of nine left from the first 14 homes Fletcher built. A few more Victorians sit nearby, mixed in with plain, quickly built houses from after World War II and the 1950s. Only some of the 1890s houses carry official landmark status, and a push to make the street a historic district fizzled in the early 2000s.
Hoffman Heights is the classic postwar piece. Sam Hoffman, a plasterer, and his sons built it just north of Del Mar Park in the late 1940s and early 1950s using assembly-line methods, and by 1950 their crews were finishing 12 houses a day near East Sixth Avenue. Aurora annexed it in 1954 along with its 1,704 homes. If you want a 1950s house close to the Anschutz campus, start here. Newer subdivisions fill in farther south and east, and some come with a metro district.
Reservoirs, prairie and the High Line Canal
Cherry Creek State Park takes up 4,227 acres on the southwest edge, built around an 880-acre reservoir. There's a swim beach, boating, camping and 35 miles of trails, and the main entrance is on Parker Road about a mile south of I-225. Aurora Reservoir and Quincy Reservoir give the east side its own water. The Plains Conservation Center keeps 1,100 acres of native shortgrass prairie, and DeLaney Farm has a round barn from 1902 and access to the High Line Canal.
Colfax, Havana and an old aviation plant
The Aurora Fox Arts Center, a 245-seat city-run theater at 9900 E. Colfax, runs a full season of plays, with shows posted into early 2027. Havana Street stretches four-plus miles from Sixth Avenue down to Dartmouth, lined with restaurants and markets from all over the world. Near its south end, Shin Myung Gwan took over a twenty-year-old Korean barbecue spot in 2017 and was Westword's Best Korean Restaurant the next year. Up at 2501 N. Dallas St., Stanley Marketplace has filled a 1954 Stanley Aviation plant with more than 50 locally owned businesses since 2016.
Getting into Denver
RTD's R Line, 22 miles long, opened in full in February 2017, with Aurora stops at Peoria, Fitzsimons, Colfax, 13th Avenue, 2nd Ave-Abilene, Aurora Metro Center, Florida and Iliff. At Peoria you can switch to the A Line for Union Station or the airport. From Florida to Dayton the R Line shares track with the H Line, which has been suspended since June 2026 for RTD's downtown rail rebuild, with no return date announced. If you'd rather ride the train than fight traffic downtown, give extra weight to houses within reach of a station.
Metro districts in the newer subdivisions
Some newer neighborhoods sit inside metro districts, which add their own levy to the property tax bill. Blackstone's district, about 950 homes, had agreed to help pay for regional road work through the South Aurora Regional Improvement Authority, and in 2024 that levy went from 1 mill to 6, roughly $380 more per home. Other Aurora districts are expected to see similar increases. Before you go under contract on a newer house, read the metro district disclosures in the title company's package.
FAQ
Is Aurora part of Denver?
No. Aurora is its own city directly east of Denver, mostly in Arapahoe County, with smaller pieces in Adams and Douglas Counties.
Where are the oldest houses in Aurora?
On Galena Street, just north of East Colfax. The Centennial House, a brick Victorian, dates to 1890 and is one of nine left from the first 14 homes Fletcher built.
Where do you find 1950s houses?
Hoffman Heights, just north of Del Mar Park, was built in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Sam Hoffman and his sons. Aurora annexed it in 1954 with 1,704 homes.
Can you take the train from Aurora to Union Station?
Yes. The R Line stops at eight Aurora stations, and at Peoria you can switch to the A Line for Union Station or the airport. The H Line shares track with the R Line from Florida to Dayton but has been suspended since June 2026, with no return date announced.
What is a metro district, and does it matter?
Some newer subdivisions sit inside metro districts that add their own levy to the property tax bill. In Blackstone, the levy rose from 1 mill to 6 in 2024, so read the metro district disclosures in the title package before you go under contract.
What is there to do outdoors?
Cherry Creek State Park has an 880-acre reservoir, a swim beach and 35 miles of trails. Aurora Reservoir, Quincy Reservoir, the Plains Conservation Center and DeLaney Farm on the High Line Canal round it out.
Where do people go to eat?
Havana Street has four-plus miles of restaurants from all over the world, including Shin Myung Gwan, Westword's Best Korean Restaurant in 2018. Stanley Marketplace on North Dallas Street has more than 50 local businesses in a 1954 aviation plant.