Preservation Resources

Downtown District National Register Designation

On May 27, 2021, the Iowa City Downtown Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. To receive this designation, the City of Iowa City worked with an architectural historian, Alexa McDowell of AKAY Consulting, to updated the City’s historic survey of downtown. The survey provided valuable information on the historical and physical character of the area. More specifically, it included an inventory of properties and identified their historic significance, outlining recommendations on historic district boundaries, and explained incentives available to property owners of historic structures.

The final nomination application is available on the City of Iowa City's website.

National Resources

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust works to save America’s historic places.

National Register of Historic Places

State Historical Society of Iowa

SHSI in Iowa City has resources that can provide information about historic properties in the area.

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Main Street America

The National Main Street Center leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

Reurbanism

Historic preservation encourages cities to build on the assets they have—unleashing the enormous power and potential of older buildings to improve health, affordability, prosperity, and well-being. Ultimately, it’s the mix of old and new buildings, working together to fashion dense, walkable, and thriving streets, that helps us achieve a more prosperous, sustainable, and healthier future. By transforming the places we live to places we love, older buildings are a key and irreplaceable component of this future, and we are richer and stronger when they remain.

PlaceEconomics

Donovan Rypkema is principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development consulting firm. The firm specializes in services to public and non-profit sector clients who are dealing with downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization and the reuse of historic structures.

A Guide to Researching the History of a House

by HomeAdvisor