Commissioner Swan, in a report to the legislature in Burlington, described the site: Iowa City is located on a section of land laying in the form of an amphitheater.

"[6] By June of that year, the town had been platted and surveyed from Brown St. in the north to Burlington St. in the south, and from the Iowa River eastward to Governor St.

The capitol building was completed in 1842, and the last four territorial legislatures and the first six Iowa General Assemblies met there until 1857, when the state capital was moved to Des Moines.

These include Robert E. Lucas, first governor of the territory (1838–41); Samuel J. Kirkwood, governor during the Civil War (1860–64), again in 1876, a U.S. senator in 1877, and subsequently secretary of the interior and U.S. minister to Spain; well-known presidents of the university, Walter A. Jessup (1915–33) and Virgil M. Hancher (1940–64); Cordelia Swan, daughter of one of the three commissioners who selected the site for Iowa City and the new territorial capitol; and Irving B. Weber (1900–1997), noted Iowa City historian.

On May 4, the National Guard fired on students at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine people, which ignited protests all over the country.

[11] After the Kent State shootings, students marched on the National Guard Armory, broke windows there as well as in some downtown businesses.

Their presence on campus and the academic credit they received for their service was called into question by both students and faculty in the spring of 1970, but Boyd said he could not abolish ROTC.

The Alumni Review had an article called "ROTC: Alive and well at Iowa" in the December 1969 issue which helps provide a more complete picture of this period in history.

The 134-year-old Saint Patrick's Catholic Church was heavily damaged only minutes after Holy Thursday Mass, with most of its roof destroyed.

The downtown business district as well as the eastern residential area and several parks suffered scattered damage of varying degrees.

The total cost of damage was estimated at $12 million–$4 million of which was attributed to Iowa City and Johnson County property.

[12] A local newspaper reported on June 11, 2008, that water exceeded the emergency spillway at the Coralville Reservoir outside of Iowa City.

Extensive efforts to move materials from the university's main library were undertaken as large groups of sandbagging volunteers began to construct a massive levee near the building.

Also on Saturday, Mayor Regenia Bailey issued a curfew restricting anyone except those authorized by law enforcement from being within 100 yards (91 m) of any area affected by the flood between 8:30 pm and 6 am.

Overall, Iowa City's tornado risk is lower than that of areas to the south and southwest, such as Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

The building now serves as the Old Capitol Museum, as well as a venue for speeches, lectures, press conferences and performances in the original state senate chamber.

The district extends from the University of Iowa Pentacrest, south to the Johnson County Courthouse, east to College Green Park, and north into the historic Northside Neighborhood.

It has a strong literary history and is the home of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, whose graduates include John Irving, Flannery O'Connor, T.C.

The Englert Theatre produces Mission Creek Festival each spring, focusing on community events, performance and literary programming featuring over 100 writers each year.

Witching Hour takes place each fall and focuses on exploring the unknown, discussing the creative process and presenting new work.

The Ped Mall area contains restaurants, bars, retail, hotels, and the Iowa City Public Library.

The Hawkeyes football team regularly sends players to the NFL, including Super Bowl Champion all-pro Baltimore Ravens guard Marshall Yanda, 2004 2nd overall draft pick Robert Gallery, and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, among many others.

[35] City Park contains the Bobby Oldis Fields, an outdoor pool complex, many picnic areas and playgrounds, as well as the Riverside Festival Stage.

Hubbard Park is a green space directly south of the Iowa Memorial Union building and used for many campus events.

The mayor is primarily a figurehead or a "first among equals", with some power to set agendas and lead meetings, as well as serving as the public face of city government.

[41] KCJJ 1630 AM is an independently owned, 10,000-watt station that broadcasts a mixture of talk radio and Hot AC music programming along with area high school football and basketball games and NASCAR racing.

[44] KCRG-TV 9, the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, maintains a news bureau at Old Capitol Mall in downtown Iowa City.

The Daily Iowan, an independent newspaper based at the University of Iowa, publishes Monday through Friday while classes are in session.

The historic Iowa City Depot, shown in the picture at left, is no longer in use for railway services; it has been modified into a commercial office building.

[48] In 2013, the Iowa City MSA ranked as the sixth lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (73.4 percent).