Aurora Historical Society to celebrate 120th anniversary with retro-futuristic-themed gala

The Aurora Historical Society is going back to the future to celebrate its 120th anniversary during a themed fundraising event on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Aurora.

The banquet, called the “Googie Gala,” will be held from 6-10 p.m. at the Aurora Country Club, 1548 Prairie St. in Aurora.

According to a release, the historical society will be celebrating its anniversary at the gala by featuring “the era of Googie-style architecture and signage in the Aurora area, like the iconic Northgate sign” found on North Lake Street at the Northgate Shopping Center.

“This mid-20th century futuristic style is characterized by upswept roofs, bold geometric shapes, neon signage and Space Age motifs reflecting America’s optimism about the future following World War II,” the release said.

The name “Googie” for the style comes from Googie’s Coffee Shop in West Hollywood, California, designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1949, according to the release. Googie was the nickname of the shop owner’s wife.

An architecture critic coined the term Googie for this emerging style in 1952, the release said. Other examples around the country of Googie-style signage and architecture include Seattle’s Space Needle and the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign in Las Vegas, the release said.

John Jaros, executive director of the Aurora Historical Society, said the group’s fundraisers always feature something different.

“We did one last fall a little earlier in September and that was the ‘Gatsby Gala’ in honor of the 100th anniversary of the release of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald,” Jaros said. “We had a fun party at the country club and this year we thought if we could do something like that again at the same location that would work.”

Jaros said while fundraisers have not been held regularly over the past few years due to a variety of logistical issues as well as the pandemic, they are something the historical society is going to try and do twice a year, “one in the spring and one in the fall.”

Tickets are $100 each and sponsorships start at $250. Guests will enjoy a dinner, a signature cocktail, silent and live auctions, and much more at the upcoming event, organizers said.

Jaros said one of this year’s highlights will be seeing how people “dress up for the event, much as they did last year for Gatsby in the 1920 era.”

“We had a lot of that. This year, the era is more the 1960s when the Googie stuff came out, so we’re encouraging people to dress up like the Rat Pack, ‘Star Trek,’ Space Age-stuff like the ‘Jetsons,’ a Pan Am stewardess — that’s what Googie was all about,” he said. “Hopefully we’re going to have some of the board and friends of the historical society who will be dressing up.

“One of our board members is going to bring his ’59 Buick with the fins that will be parked outside where people can pose for pictures with it,” Jaros said.

Music of the era including Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra will be played as well as some possible live performances, Jaros said. There also will be a slide program on Googie architecture, organizers said.

For tickets, go to buytickets.at/aurorahistoricalsociety/2375781.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.