Overview

The Downtown Aurora AR City is a new immersive experience that overlays digital art,
history, and community stories onto real streets within the East Colfax and
Aurora Cultural Arts District. Using your smartphone, visitors can explore animated murals,
historic reconstructions, business showcases, and youth-created digital art—right at the
physical locations where these stories happened.

Creation of the AR City

The project began with a simple question:
What if Aurora’s past, present, and future could be viewed directly on the city’s walls and buildings?

Local artists, youth designers, historians, and business owners collaborated to map the district’s most
meaningful locations. Listening sessions, street-level walks, and community workshops helped identify
landmarks that would become augmented reality “anchor points.”

Community Input Included:

• Story circles with residents, elders, and youth creators
• Artist mapping sessions along East Colfax
• Historic research and neighborhood interviews

Implementation & Technology

The Downtown Aurora AR City is powered by mobile-friendly AR technology that blends
GPS, image tracking, and cloud-based anchors to maintain accurate placement of digital content.

Technology Highlights

• iOS and Android-compatible mobile app
• Location-based AR anchors and visual markers
• 3D models, spatial audio, historical overlays, and animated scenes
• Web dashboard for creators and local businesses to submit content

Four-Phase Rollout

• Phase 1: District scanning, mapping, and photo reference capture
• Phase 2: Prototyping AR scenes and pilot testing
• Phase 3: Public rollout with signage and new AR locations
• Phase 4: Continuous quarterly updates and creator expansions

Experiences

Visitors can follow themed AR walking tours such as:

• Historic Aurora: 3D reconstructions of landmark buildings
• Colfax Stories: Interviews and local business histories
• Youth Futures Walk: Youth-created digital murals and animations

The AR City also includes mini-experiences like animated posters, interactive storefronts,
and live AR notifications for performances and events.

Partnerships & Governance

The AR City is maintained through collaboration between:

• City arts and cultural organizations
• Local businesses and the merchant association
• Youth arts and education programs
• AR/VR tech developers and creative studios

Contact

Email: info@dacarc.org

Office: Downtown Aurora, Colorado