4 Venues Every North Aurora and Romeoville Resident Should Check Out

As a new resident to North Aurora or Romeoville, you don't want to spend all your time unpacking boxes. You want to get out and experience and embrace your new community's cultural and entertainment attractions. Why not sit back and enjoy these four community focal points?

1. Paramount Theatre in Aurora

Just a 15-minute drive from Springs at Orchard Road, it pays to keep a close eye on the Paramount (also known as the Paramount Arts Center). Its name fittingly describes the towering cultural diversity of this downtown Aurora treasure, teeming with Art Deco style and provocative Venetian architectural elements.

If shows like “Hairspray” and “West Side Story” don't get your feet stomping, watch for the Paramount's steady offering of plays, concerts, comedy shows and films. Entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny and Joan Rivers helped put Paramount on the map. After one visit, it surely will remain on yours.

2. RiverEdge Park in Aurora

When you want to enjoy a “backyard away from home,” you'll head to RiverEdge Park. Open for only a few years, it was designed by melding some of the best elements of Chicago's Millennium and Grant parks and Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheater. With the downtown Aurora skyline as its urban backdrop, the 39-acre RiverEdge park is nestled along the Fox River and features a 10-acre music pavilion, along with a canoe and kayak launch.

Already, the park has hosted a wide range of musical acts, from blues and jazz to country and pop. It also has become a go-to place to view fireworks on the Fourth of July. Serene and calm yet exuding a dynamic city aura, RiverEdge extends your backyard with consistently edgy offerings.

3. Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet

Located only a few miles from Romeoville, “The Rialto” opened in 1926 as a vaudeville movie palace. Its breathtaking architecture has landed it on the American Institute of Architects' list of the “150 Best Places in Illinois.” The Rialto's grand visual appeal will make it challenging to keep your camera in your pocket and your eyes trained on the main stage. So too will an organ console that can be raised to stage level or lowered into the orchestra pit – a definite draw for the theater's annual organ concert in April.

Some of the theater's eclectic 2016 events include performances by the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, “Tapestry: Tribute to Carole King” and “Sesame Street Live: Make A New Friend.”

4. Beller Museum in Romeoville

You don't have to be a car aficionado to visit the Bellar Museum, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. A visit to this top Romeoville attraction is like taking a walk through history, with dozens of cars and trucks from Detroit's car manufacturing heyday. In addition to vehicles from the 1920s up through the 1950s, the museum features a library that showcases the best print ads for these vintage vehicles as well as special events throughout the year.

These cultural and entertainment attractions are just a short trip from your North Aurora or Romeoville apartment home. What North Aurora or Romeoville area attractions did we miss? Share them with us in the comments below.