Iowa City Downtown District

Downtown Iowa City is home to extraordinary boutiques, shops, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, hotels and professional offices. For a complete list of the businesses that comprise our Downtown, please visit the Iowa City Downtown District website.

The Iowa City Downtown District is a place to discover treasures. The tree-lined Pedestrian Plaza features locally-owned specialty stores, a variety of dining options, street vendors and regular entertainment.

Enjoy a variety of art and cultural options throughout the year, including: Taste of Iowa City, The Friday Night Concert Series, Downtown Saturday Night, Iowa Arts Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival,Sand in the City, and Oktoberfest.

Explore Iowa City's unique literary history with a stroll down the Iowa Avenue Literary Walk. The Walk highlights the many authors who studied at the world-famous Iowa Writer's Workshop or called Iowa City home, among them: Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, W.P. Kinsella and Tennesee Williams. Their work and the work of so many others has earned Iowa City recognition as one of only three UNESCO Cities of Literature in the world. The University of Iowa campus, intertwined with Downtown, showcases the Old Capitol Museum, the Pentacrest Museums and other cultural attractions.

The Iowa City Downtown District is a non-profit organization funded through contributions from property taxes assessed to properties in Downtown Iowa City and the Northside Marketplace and financial support from The University of Iowa. The organization provides leadership and undertakes programs to promote and sustain Downtown Iowa City as a unique and economically viable business, entertainment, social and cultural center.