Aurora Regional Fire Museum

The Aurora Regional Fire Museum fills the old Central Fire Station, an 1894 firehouse at the corner of New York Street and North Broadway that served the city for 86 years. Chief Erwin J. Bauman authorized a fire museum in 1966, and Captain Charles Goodwin and his wife Georgia built the collection until a Save Our Station campaign won the old headquarters for the museum in 1987. The restored building, with its bay windows and a replica of the original onion dome, reopened in 2004. Exhibits trace Aurora’s fire department and firefighting technology, and the museum hosts bilingual storytimes and a Community Hero Day each fall.

What to know

• The museum is in the 1894 Central Fire Station at 53 N. Broadway (Route 25) at New York Street.
• Admission is $5 per person ages 3 and up; children 2 and under are free.
• The collection dates to 1966; the museum opened in the old station in 1990 and reopened after full restoration in 2004.
• Free parking is behind the building on N. LaSalle Street, and the Aurora Metra station is two blocks north.
• Fall 2026 events include Community Hero Day on October 3 and haunted-firehouse evenings on October 16 and 23.