Aurora Civic Center Authority

Downtown Aurora is experiencing a cultural resurgence, and its next landmark is rising from the momentum of more than 500,000 annual theatergoers. In partnership with the Aurora Civic Center Authority, Holabird & Root is shaping the flagship venue of a downtown performing arts campus that already attracts over 500,000 theatergoers each year—an unprecedented civic investment that has fueled Aurora’s ongoing revitalization. Building on a multi-phase transformation of the North Island Center, home to the 173-seat Copley Theater, the project modernized public spaces, expanded bar and lounge areas, redesigned the entry plaza, and fully re-envisioned the theater’s interior—from new green rooms and dressing suites to acoustically tuned finishes and upgraded audience amenities. The vision for the new City of Lights Center extends this evolution into an iconic riverfront destination: a luminous venue wrapped in a billowing, transparent metal façade that shimmers by day and glows with concealed lighting after dusk, like a theatrical curtain in motion. Inside, a continuous circulation loop connects lobby, lounges, bars, plaza, and merchandise areas around the central performance hall, where rippling geometry and sweeping LED-embedded fabric panels create an immersive environment. Together, the building and its campus strengthen Aurora’s cultural identity, cementing the performing arts as a catalyst for the city’s future.