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1965 Map of Fitzsimons

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Fitzsimons
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Fitzsimons General Hospital and Buckley Air National Guard Base dominate the landscape of eastern Aurora during a period of rapid suburban expansion. This 1965 survey, updated with 1971 revisions, illustrates the conversion of open land into dense residential neighborhoods, particularly around Altura and south of Colfax Ave. The sprawling military and medical installations are bordered by a dense network of new educational facilities, including Hinkley High Sch and North Jr High Sch, reflecting the postwar baby boom's impact on local infrastructure.

In the southern portion of the map, the Cherry Creek Lake and the surrounding Cherry State Recreation Area provide a clear contrast to the northern urban grid. Here, the land retains more of its natural drainage patterns with Toll Gate Creek and Cottonwood Creek feeding into the reservoir. Traces of earlier development remain visible at Melvin and along the historic High Line Canal, even as major thoroughfares like Parker Road and Hampden Road begin to reshape the geography of the high plains.