Pentacrest

Pentacrest
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Old Capitol, center of the Pentacrest
Location	Iowa City, IA
Built	1898
Architect	Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	78001230
Added to NRHP	March 29, 1978

The Pentacrest is a collection of five buildings on the campus of the University of Iowa — the Old Capitol, Jessup Hall, Macbride Hall, MacLean Hall, and Schaeffer Hall — on a four-block-sized parcel of land in Iowa City, Iowa.

Macbride Hall, which houses the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History.

Description

The Pentacrest is the zero-point of the street grid of Iowa City. The axes are defined by Iowa Avenue and Capitol Street. The exact center is marked by the Iowa Old Capitol Building, which was used as the first state capitol.

The borders of the Pentacrest are Jefferson Street on the north, Washington Street on the south, Madison Street on the west, and Clinton Street on the east.

History

The Pentacrest was not always the Pentacrest. Other buildings have been located on the site. The present configuration is a relatively recent one that was established during the 20th century. Calvin Hall once belonged to the Pentacrest, and was located where Macbride Hall currently is. The decision was made that all buildings of the Pentacrest should be the same color; therefore, Calvin Hall was moved intact across Jefferson Street and Macbride Hall was built in its place.