Franklin Printing House

The Ped Mall, also known as the Pedestrian Mall, is a pedestrian mall located in downtown Iowa City, Iowa, near the University of Iowa campus. Officially named City Plaza it was completed in 1979 as the centerpiece of the city's urban renewal project. Landscaping was completed the following year. It was designed by Jack Leaman of Associated Engineers, Inc., in Mason City, Iowa. While pedestrian malls were a common feature of urban renewal projects in the United States, the Iowa City Ped Mall is one of the few that is still in existence. Spanning from Burlington Street to Washington Street and Clinton Street to Linn Street, the Ped Mall serves as a gathering place for students, locals, and transients. It draws large crowds for its summertime events such as the Friday Night Concert Series and the annual Iowa City Jazz Festival and Iowa City Arts Festival. The Ped Mall area also contains restaurants, bars, retail, hotels, a playground for children, and the Iowa City Public Library. The Coldren Opera House was located on the street which has now become the mall. In 2021, it was included as a contributing property in the Iowa City Downtown Historic District.

The College Block Building is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1883, this is the first known architect-designed commercial building in Iowa City. It was designed by local architect Chauncey F. Lovelace, who moved his office into the building. The main facade of this two-story brick structure is capped with an ornate, bracketed, tin cornice with the words "College Block" on an ornamented crest. There are eight windows on the second floor, all with ornate window hoods. The second and third windows on both ends are coupled together under a larger hood. The main floor is occupied by commercial space, and the second floor contains apartments. Urban renewal threatened the building's existence in the 1970s. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 2021, the building was included as a contributing property in the Iowa City Downtown Historic District.

The Paul–Helen Building is a historic building in downtown Iowa City, Iowa. The Chicago school building was the first part of a renewal of downtown Iowa City starting in the 1910s.

Johnson County Savings Bank, also known as Iowa State Bank, is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1912, it is a six-story, brick structure that rises to a height of 72.45 feet (22.08 m). The design of the structure shows the influence of the Chicago Commercial style of architecture and that of architect Louis Sullivan. These influences are found in the building's arrangement with a base, shaft, and capital. The decorative elements executed in stone and terra cotta show the influence of Neoclassical architecture. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. In 2021, it was included as a contributing property in the Iowa City Downtown Historic District.

The Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) was established in 1896 to serve the people of Iowa City, Iowa, USA. Currently located in a new facility at the intersection of College and Linn Streets on the downtown pedestrian mall, ICPL serves a population of 69,000 residents of Iowa City, and through contract, residents of unincorporated Johnson County, University Heights and Hills. ICPL has approximately 67,000 cardholders.

Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, is a renovated vaudeville-era playhouse now serving as a community arts center and 725-seat performance venue. It is owned and operated year around by Englert Civic Theatre, a non-profit art organization. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. In 2021, it was included as a contributing property in the Iowa City Downtown Historic District. The theater hosts a variety of events including live music, comedy, dance, plays, lectures, film screenings, civic events, public and private ceremonies such as awards and anniversary celebrations, and more.

The Iowa City Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 102 resources, which included 73 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing object, 21 non-contributing buildings, and seven non-contributing objects. Eight buildings that were previously listed on the National Register are also included in the district. Iowa City's central business district developed adjacent to the Iowa Old Capitol Building and the main campus of the University of Iowa. This juxtaposition gives the area its energy with the overlap of university staff and students and the local community. The district was significantly altered in the 1970s by the city's urban renewal effort that brought about the Ped Mall (City Plaza), which transformed two blocks of College Street from Clinton Street to Linn Street and Dubuque Street from Burlington Street to Washington Street. It is the contributing site and the large planters/retaining walls that are original to the project are counted together as the contributing object. There are also several freestanding, limestone planters, five contemporary sculptures, and a playground area are the non-contributing objects. The district mainly contains commercial buildings that were built in the Early Classical Revival, the revival styles of the Late Victorian era, the Chicago Commercial Style, Art Deco, and the Art Moderne styles. Modern architecture was introduced in the urban renewal years when new buildings were constructed and storefronts renovated. Architects of regional and local importance with buildings in the district include Chauncey Lovelace, Iowa City; Proudfoot & Bird and their successor firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson, Des Moines; Dieman & Fiske, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen, Des Moines; Vorse, Kraetsch & Kraetsch, Des Moines; H.L. Stevens & Company, Chicago; Kruse and Klein of Davenport, Iowa; and J. Bradley Rust, Iowa City. The Franklin Printing House (1856), Trinity Episcopal Church (1871), College Block Building (1883), Boerner-Fry Company/Davis Hotel (1899), Old Post Office (1904, 1931), Paul–Helen Building (1910), Englert Theatre (1912), and Johnson County Savings Bank (1912) are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prairie Lights is an independent bookstore in downtown Iowa City, Iowa, founded in 1978, by Jim Harris.

The Coldren Opera House is a former theater that operated in Iowa City, Iowa, from 1877 until its closure in 1912.

Plaza Towers East is the tallest building in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Construction on the 14-story Condominium/hotel building began in 2003 and it was completed two years later. It rises to a height of 158 feet (48 m). The 13-story west tower was completed at the same time. The Modern Movement structure was designed by Neumann Monson Architects of Iowa City. McComas-Lacina Construction L.C., also of Iowa City, was responsible for its construction. The first three floors of both towers house commercial space, an extended-stay hotel is located on floors four to six, and three floors of apartments. The top floors are condominiums with penthouse-type units.

The Old Capitol Mall (now Old Capitol Town Center) is a shopping mall in the downtown area of Iowa City, Iowa. Located across the street from the south-east corner of the Pentacrest (a four-block-sized parcel of land with a collection of five buildings with the old Iowa Territory capitol in the middle), the Old Capitol Mall was a convenient shopping center for University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff. It was originally anchored by JCPenney and Younkers, and over 70 stores. In July 1998, JCPenney and other stores moved to larger Coral Ridge Mall and divided into smaller stores. In 2004, Younkers closed. The Mall saw decreasing traffic after the opening of the Coral Ridge Mall in the adjacent town of Coralville, Iowa. Many major retailers opted to focus on their Coral Ridge locations and close their low-performing Old Capitol locations. While some stores and restaurants still exist in the Old Capitol Mall, other spaces have been used by newspaper offices, the University of Iowa, or various political parties. The University of Iowa has largely taken over this building.

The Voxman Music Building is an academic building of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The building is named in honor of former University of Iowa director of the school of music, Himie Voxman.