The Old Capitol is the symbolic heart of Iowa City and the centrepiece of the campus's Pentacrest. Built between 1840 and 1842 to a Greek Revival design by John Francis Rague, it is a confidently classical sandstone building with a domed cupola and a reverse spiral staircase that has fascinated visitors for nearly two centuries. The interior houses period-restored chambers — the territorial and state legislative rooms, the Supreme Court — and a small museum on the building's overlapping lives as capitol and as university.
Admission is free. Self-guided tours run during the day; guided tours run on weekends. The lawn outside is the campus's main gathering place and one of the best spots in town for an afternoon sit-down with a coffee from Java House on Washington Street.