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Iowa City, Iowa

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Old Capitol Building in February 2005

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, USA. It is the principal city of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of both Johnson and Washington counties. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,220, making it the sixth largest city in Iowa. It is the county seat of Johnson CountyTemplate:GR and the home of The University of Iowa. Iowa City was the first state capital of Iowa, until the capital was moved to Des Moines in 1857. The Old Capitol building is a major landmark, and stands as a tourist attraction in the middle of the University of Iowa campus. Located nearby are museums such as Iowa Hall and MacBride Hall. The University of Iowa Art Museum and Plum Grove, home of the first governor of Iowa are other tourist attractions.

Geography

Location of Iowa City, Iowa
Location of Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is located at 41°39′21″N 91°31′30″W / 41.65583°N 91.52500°W / 41.65583; -91.52500Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (41.655816, -91.524991)Template:GR, along the Iowa River.

The city has a total area of 63.3 km² (24.4 mi²). 62.6 km² (24.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.15%) is water.

The elevation at the Iowa City Municipal Airport is 668 ft. (203.6 m) above sea level.

Transportation

Iowa City has a general aviation airport - the Iowa City Municipal Airport - on the south side of the city. The nearest airport with passenger service is The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, about 20 miles (32 km) to the northwest.

Interstate 80 runs east-west along the north edge of Iowa City. U.S. Highway 218 and Iowa State Highway 27 (the Avenue of the Saints) are co-signed along a freeway bypassing Iowa City to the west. U.S. Highway 6 and Iowa State Highway 1 also run through Iowa City.

Iowa City is served by the Iowa Interstate Railroad and the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (CRANDIC or CRandIC).

Iowa City Transit[1], Coralville Transit[2], and the University of Iowa's "Cambus" system[3] provide public transportation.

Metropolitan area

The Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Johnson and Washington counties in Iowa; Washington County was added to the MSA after the 2000 census. It had a 2000 census population of 131,676, and a 2005 estimated population of 138,524. [4]

File:IowaCityDownTown.jpg
Downtown Iowa City

Iowa City is surrounded by Coralville, North Liberty, and University Heights. Tiffin, Solon, and Hills are other small towns within a few miles.

Sports

Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa's athletic teams, known as the Iowa Hawkeyes. The football team plays at Kinnick Stadium, while the men's and women's basketball teams play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Music

Iowa City is home to a vibrant music scene with a wide variety of styles. Greg Brown, Dave Zollo, Kelly Pardykooper, and William Elliott Whitmore play folk and roots rock. Bad Fathers play hip hop. Ten Grand, Faultlines, Wax Cannon, The Slats, Hairline Fracture, BF Burt, King Toad, Troubled Hubble, and Making Hey! all have been connected to the city. Apart from the commerical stations, the University radio station, KRUI, provides a source of local and alternative music. The Picador, and The Mill host shows on a nightly basis. No Shame Theatre, which began in Iowa City, provides an open stage for developing musicians, actors, comedians, and other performers. Touring music venues include the University of Iowa Hancher Auditorium, and the recently restored Englert Civic Theatre.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 62,220 people, 25,202 households, and 11,189 families residing in the city. The population density was 994.3/km² (2,575.0/mi²). There were 26,083 housing units at an average density of 416.8/km² (1,079.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.33% White, 3.75% African American, 0.31% Native American, 5.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.25% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.95% of the population.

There were 25,202 households out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 2% are households with same-sex couples (2000 U.S. Census), 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.6% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.2% under the age of 18, 32.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

Iowa City is largely a university town. The population nearly doubles during the months when the University of Iowa is in session.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,977, and the median income for a family was $57,568. Males had a median income of $35,435 versus $28,981 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,269. About 6.7% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Iowa City is tied with Stamford, Connecticut, for the US metropolitan area with the highest percentage of the adult population holding a bachelor's degree or higher; 44 percent of adults hold a degree. (US Dept of Commerce @ www.census.gov)

2006 Tornado

Main article: Easter Week 2006 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
File:April06 tornado damage.jpg
Iowa Ave. damage from the April '06 tornados

On the evening of April 13, 2006, one or more tornadoes struck Iowa City, causing severe property damage and displacing many from their homes, including many University of Iowa students. It was the first tornado ever to be recorded to hit Iowa City directly. No serious injuries have been reported in the Iowa City area, but one person in rural Muscatine County died in a related storm. [5]

A popular Dairy Queen which had been in business for 54 years was destroyed in the storm, along with damage to two large car dealerships, and several other businesses along Riverside Drive. A Menards store suffered severe damage to its roof, and the main sign for the store was destroyed. The Wal-Mart along Highway 1 had shopping carts blown all over the parking lot, the outdoor garden center was wrecked, and parts of the roof were torn off. The 134 year old Saint Patrick's Catholic Church was heavily damaged during a mass, with most of its roof torn off. The Starbucks in Iowa City had its roof torn off. Several homes were damaged along Iowa Avenue, and many trees were lost in and around College Green Park.

Additionally, several houses in the sorority row area were destroyed, as well as a Happy Joe's Restaurant. Police found some "looting" in the Happy Joe's Restaurant. The two men were charged with robbery.

The television program Tonight with Bradman beat all the local affiliates by providing coverage all night long. The host, Bradley Laborman along with a skeleton crew showed video of the disaster and took phone calls from tornado victims. Pieces of the broadcast of TWB are available on iTunes.

Local Color

File:Kids on the Ped.jpg
Children enjoy Waterdance Fountain on the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City.
  • Local historian Irving Weber[6] distinguished himself through his articles about various important Iowa City landmarks. A school in the area is named after him. Read the articles online through the Iowa Heritage Digital Collections [7]
  • The car-free Pedestrian Mall serves as a gathering place for students and locals, and draws large crowds for its summertime events. Examples of such events are the Friday Night Concert Series and the annual Jazz Fest. The most popular attraction in the Ped Mall is the Iowa City night life. The University of Iowa is ranked number eight in the country for "party schools" by the Princeton Review, largely due to the many bars in the Ped Mall and the surrounding area, which are packed every night of the week, year round. Parts of the Ped Mall were destroyed when tornados hit Iowa City on April 13, 2006.
  • Hancher Auditorium often hosts nationally touring theater, dance and musical shows, and has commissioned more than 100 works of music, theater and dance during the last 20 years.
  • Hamburg Inn No. 2 is a popular family restaurant and favorite campaign stop for political candidates. It was featured in a 2005 episode of the political drama The West Wing. It has also been a favored campaign stop for many US Presidents, including Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. It was featured in the New York Times for its widely renowned "pie shakes". Other famous local restaurants include Pagliai's Pizza and The Mill.
  • Under the leadership of Professor James Van Allen, the University of Iowa has played an important part in the American space exploration program.
  • Iowa City is one of the world's leading literary centers. It the home of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, whose graduates include John Irving, Flannery O'Connor, T.C. Boyle and many other prominent American authors; the nation's leading Non-Fiction Writing Program; the Iowa Playwrights Workshop; the Iowa Summer Writing Festival; and the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated International Writing Program, a unique residency program that has hosted writers from more than 120 countries.
  • On June 9, 1856, 500 Mormons left Iowa City and headed west for Salt Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts. They had arrived by train. At that time, Iowa City was the westernmost rail terminus.
  • ACT college testing services is headquartered in Iowa City.
  • The Utne Reader ranked Iowa City eighth in its 1997 survey of "America's 10 Most Enlightened Towns".[8]
  • In June 2006, Kiplinger's rated Iowa City #10 on its list of the Top 50 Smart Places to Live. [9]

Notable natives

See also: List of University of Iowa people

See also

External links

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