The Pentacrest: History and Architecture

Architecture of Existing Buildings

From the University of Iowa Guide to Campus Architecture by John Beldon Scott & Rodney P. Lenhertz. 1  Photos from the Iowa Digital Library 2  and Iowa Strategic Communications. 3 

In its first decades, the University of Iowa grew up according to the needs of students and the demands of building an institution of higher learning in what was still, in many ways, a frontier town. Italianate and Second Empire style brick buildings sprang up next to the state's original capitol building, mostly on a north-south axis. As the nineteenth century came to a close, the decision to construct a major new Classical building adjacent to the Old Capitol made a decisive break with that tradition, initiating a new era of campus planning that took shape over the span of a quarter of a century and the administrations of four University presidents. For the first time, designs were chosen based on their stylistic resonance with the Greek Revival Old Capitol and on how they could summon a sense of the University as a center of scholarship and learning. As new buildings of Bedford limestone went up, the older, more informal structures burned down, were torn down, or (in one instance) were moved away.

Today's Pentacrest, four monumental halls organized on diagonal axes around the Old Capitol, did not take definitive shape until the last remnant of its nineteenth-century brick buildings was razed in 1975. Pentacrest, meaning "five on a place of prominence," got its designation from a 1924 naming contest sponsored by the Daily Iowan, right after the completion of Jessup Hall, the last of the four new buildings. This name was suggested by Emerson A. Plank (D.D.S., 1929) of Independence, Iowa, who later said he coined the term because he wanted it to "recall the Old World." Plank's idea was an endorsement of the original concept behind the Old Capitol and the Pentacrest, which aimed at continuity and expression of the shared cultural values of Western civilization, as understood at the time.

The Pentacrest, however, is more than the mere sum of its individual buildings. It exemplifies the City Beautiful Movement of the 1890s, which looked to the urban planning principles first formulated in the Italian Renaissance and then spectacularly realized in the symmetrical disposition of buildings at world's fairs and expositions. The Paris Exposition Universele of 1889, with the Eiffel Tower as its centerpiece, and, above all, Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, with its unrestrained commitment to Beaux-Arts Classicism, were decisive for the thinking that produced the Pentacrest. A premium on axial relationships had already been established by Leander Judson's 1839 grid plan of Iowa City, which created a broad boulevard, Iowa Avenue, connecting the territorial capitol with the projected governor's mansion eight blocks to the east. Although the latter component was not to be realized, the axial thoroughfare ensured that the Old Capitol, once transferred to the University, would be the centerpiece around which other buildings would develop and that the campus would have an inextricable link to its host city.

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The Old Capitol, 1842

Old Capitol's history began as the seat of the territorial government of Iowa. It became the University's first permanent building in 1857 when the state legislature moved to Des Moines. In addition to being the administrative center of the University, at various times it was also the home of the law school, the library, a museum, a dormitory, and even a gymnasium. The story of Old Capitol intersects with some of the most defining moments in the nation's history. Abraham Lincoln was eulogized on its steps on April 19, 1865. A hundred years later, another moment of turmoil - the protests over the Vietnam War - engulfed Old Capitol. It is the heart of the University, its pivot, and the image conjured up when remembering the high bluffs and city above the Iowa River.

Old Capitol remains the focus of collective memory and the point of departure for architecture on campus, having inspired the Beaux-Arts Classicism of the Pentacrest buildings, the dome of Boyd Law Building, and the axes along which the various campuses are organized. Old Capitol itself has also been refined and redefined over the years, with a near total rehabilitation from 1921 to 1924 that added the west portico, an element included in the original design but never built.

Photo years: 1853, 1893, 1930, 2003, 2022

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Schaeffer Hall, 1902

The notion of the Pentacrest began with Charles A. Schaeffer, the University of Iowa's seventh president (1887-1898). As part of a larger agenda to invest in the facilities and faculty necessary to make the University a national institution, Schaeffer brought in Henry Van Brunt, one of the architects of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, to judge a competition for the design of a new academic hall. Proudfoot and Bird's winning entry began their long service as the University's architects of choice and introduced a dignified Beaux-Arts Classicism that would become synonymous with the Pentacrest. Despite Schaeffer's untimely death, a construction fire, and conflicts between the architects and contractors, the doors to Schaeffer Hall finally opened on January 23, 1902, providing a permanent and modern location for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), which was then known as the Collegiate Department. The College has called Schaeffer Hall home ever since, and the building underwent a complete renovation in 1998, marking a century since construction began on the original building. Schaeffer Hall is the oldest University classroom building still in use for instruction.

Schaeffer Hall's design signals a decision to define and ennoble the center of campus. By choosing to build in Bedford limestone instead of the more traditional red brick, on a monumental scale, and in the Classical tradition, the University lent Schaeffer Hall a distinction appropriate to its setting and to its potential importance in the life of the institution. On the east façade, a portico greets downtown Iowa City, and the frieze of the pediment, reading "Liberal Arts," prominently announces the building's purpose. While the design is sympathetic to Old Capitol, the choice to move up one order, from wooden Doric to monolithic limestone Ionic columns, also expresses the transition from the older structure's Greek notions of good government to Schaeffer's Renaissance ideals of education and culture. Referencing Old Capitol's Doric prototype, the decorated pediment, ornamental globes, and horizontal scrolls mounting up to the now-removed central flagpole freight Schaeffer with a sense of grandeur that amplifies the building's message that art and science are essential to a democracy. The narrow end façades repeat the portico motif of the east front but with engaged rather than free-standing columns and without a pediment, which might compete with Old Capitol's venerable image. The model is Ange-Jacques Gabriel's façade of the Petit Trianon at Versailles. On its west or rear façade Schaeffer Hall trades the rectilinear for curvilinear forms with a powerfully projecting rotunda that unexpectedly introduces baroque drama in place of the relatively restrained classicism of the east front.

Former name: Hall of Liberal Arts

Photo years: 1906, 1910, 1962, 2019, 2021

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Macbride Hall, 1908

The commitment to erect a quartet of monumental buildings around Old Capitol was furthered by President George E. MacLean (1899-1911), who saw it as an effort to compose a formal university campus and to express better the academic aspirations of a modern institution of higher learning at the turn of the twentieth century. Macbride Hall, named for Thomas Huston Macbride, eleventh president of the University of Iowa, is perhaps the clearest example of this determination; construction could not begin until Calvin Hall had been moved off the Pentacrest and across Jefferson Street to the north. Once completed, Macbride stood as a testament to the University's place as an outpost of civilization on the prairie, and it marked a continued determination to remake the architectural image of the University on a grander and more ordered scale - one that embodied MacLean's conception of the civilizing role of the modern university. The building houses the largest classroom on campus, as well as the Museum of Natural History - the oldest existing university museum west of the Mississippi. For more than four decades, the building was also the home of the University's library. Built in the basement with exposed interior columns instead of walls to accommodate the ever-increasing collection, the library still became so short of space that the floor was eventually lowered to house even more books.

While Macbride Hall resembles Schaeffer Hall in plan and elevation, significant variations between the buildings prevent the uniformity of the Pentacrest from becoming tiresome. Both have projecting Ionic porticoes in recessed central sections flanked by two wings, and prominent rotundas grace the west side of each building. Macbride's protico is shallower, however, and its cornice is topped with ornamental urns, not globes, as seen at Schaeffer Hall. The façade is also less severe than Schaeffer's, with channeled limestone and sculpted reliefs above the windows. The freestanding columns of the east portico become engaged columns on the north and south end façades and pilasters on the west face of the building. The rotunda, like Schaeffer's, is reminiscent of the Italian Baroque, creating a play of light and shadow that adds to the building's visual power and interest.

The Pentacrest buildings are meant to be seen in the round, and Macbride Hall is a particularly good example. The harmonious proportions, portico, and rotunda are all evident at a quick glance, but a closer look reveals extravagantly carved panels on the first-floor windows of the wings and end façades. The creatures in these relief sculptures are grouped by species, each having an animal at the center and related creatures forming the swags.

Former name: Hall of Natural Science

Photo years: between 1911 and 1924, 1928, 1950s, 2017, 2021

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MacLean Hall, 1912

The presidency of George E. MacLean (1899-1911) saw the University of Iowa's most expansive growth to date. A frenzy of construction was initiated after a 1901 fire that destroyed the Medical Building and South Hall and damaged the under-construction Schaeffer Hall - all on the Pentacrest. MacLean Hall, built on the former site of South Hall, was intended to replace classroom and laboratory space lost in that blaze. The project stalled almost before it began, however, when a trove of human bones was discovered during excavation. Further examination revealed that the bones were refuse from South Hall's anatomical laboratory, and President MacLean ordered them quietly disposed of so that construction might resume. The Cockroft-Walton "atom smasher" was installed here in 1938.

Marching along MacLean's frieze are the names of noted scientists including Franklin, Newton, Galileo, and Archimedes. This design feature recalls the practice of inscribing names of great artists on the exterior of museums, as was done on the 1893 Art Institute of Chicago, and points to the faculties of physics and engineering that originally occupied the building. The west entry includes ornate pentaglobed lamps that reference the five structures of the Pentacrest and the dominance of the Ionic order on the post-Old Capitol buildings. The lamps are creative variations of the Ionic order column and add interest to this "rear" view. MacLean's interior is also worth a visit; just inside the west portal an ornate, curved staircase connects the main and lower levels.

Former name(s): Physics Building

Photo years: 1910s, 1920, 1960, 1960, 2022

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Jessup Hall, 1924

Jessup Hall originally housed the Departments of Education, Commerce, and English. When the latter moved to the English-Philosophy Building in 1970, President Willard L. Boyd transferred his office from Old Capitol to the more spacious vacated administrative suite, which was a model of Spartan frugality. The standard office desk, linoleum floor, and throw rug were alleviated only by a painting borrowed from the Museum of Art. In addition to the Office of the President, Jessup now also houses the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Its current name honors one of the University's most visionary leaders, Walter Jessup. The twelfth president of the University of Iowa (1916 - 1934), Jessup presided over the grandest building campaign in University history, including the completion of the Pentacrest buildings and the campus's westward expansion across the Iowa River.

Reflecting the creative variation on the Ionic order seen throughout the Pentacrest, Jessup Hall defines an internal campus green with Macbride Hall and provides a harmonious finale for the Beaux-Arts Classicism of the four buildings flanking Old Capitol. On its east face, a simple design with two-story-high pilasters contrasts with the drama of Macbride's facing rotunda, while nodding at ancient imperial Roman architecture with the geometric grillwork above the two entrances. The north and south end façades present a more ornamented style than the adjacent MacLean Hall, replacing that building's pilasters with engaged columns and powerful Michaelangelesque scrolls (consoles) visually buttressing the attic level. Deeply carved horizontal channels at foundation level and columns on the west façade make a strong impression, nicely recapitulating MacLean's west façade and enframing Old Capitol as viewed from the river valley approach. The lamps flanking the west entrance also repeat those in a comparable position on MacLean. They are five-globed fantasies on the Ionic column, the dominant motif of the Proudfoot and Bird Pentacrest buildings. The attention given to all four sides of Jessup is consistent with the overall design of the Pentacrest.

Former name(s): University Hall

Photo years: 1924, 1925, 1960s, 2017

History of Former Pentacrest Buildings

Paraphrased from Katherine V. Bates' 1949 thesis, History of the State University of Iowa: Aspects of the Physical Structure. 4  Photos from the Iowa Digital Library 2  and Iowa Strategic Communications. 3 

The Pentacrest that students, faculty, and residents know and love has evolved since the University was founded in 1847. Named for its five iconic buildings, the Pentacrest was once home to a variety of buildings besides just the Old Capitol, Schaeffer Hall, Macbride Hall, MacLean Hall, and Jessup Hall.

Photo years: 1869, 2022

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South Hall, 1861

Upon its opening in March of 1855, the University of Iowa encompassed only one rented building, the old Mechanics' Academy. With a serious need for classroom space, campus leadership quickly began the process of obtaining University funds to construct South Hall. This was the first financial appropriation for a campus building, and the process took took more than two years. Finally, in March of 1858, an act was passed appropriating $10,000 to the University for South Hall. On June 7, 1858, the construction crew broke ground. By February of 1859, the Board of Trustees returned to the General Assembly to plead for a second appropriation to finish the project.

In 1861, South Hall was finally complete. It could be identified by its row of ten chimneys. The building functioned as a boarding hall and a home to several literary societies. Students and faculty gathered in South Hall on Friday evenings to hear debates and see a variety of productions by the literary organizations. After five years, the building was renovated to serve department needs. From 1866 to 1901, South Hall housed dentistry, history, languages, public speaking, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Medicine.

On March 10, 1901, South Hall and the neighboring Medical Building caught fire and were completely destroyed. A library of 1,200 books within South Hall was nearly totally destroyed but some engineering equipment and literary society belongings were salvaged. The total damage was estimated at $100,000 including windows in the nearby Liberal Arts Building (now Schaeffer Hall).

Photo years: 1896, 1900s, 1901, 1901

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Livery Barn, approx. 1860s

In 1862, the president of the University resolved that no horses, cattle, or other livestock would be allowed upon the University grounds. It is presumably around that time that the Livery Barn was constructed to keep any horses and carriages. The barn was demolished in 1907 to make room for the future Physics Building. 5  

Photo years: 1890, 1905

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Old North Hall, 1865

In 1864, campus was still lacking much- needed lecture space. Governor Kirkwood recommended that the University construct a facility for a chapel, chemistry laboratory, and astronomical observatory. In March of 1864, an act was passed allotting $20,000 for the new building. The observatory was not included in the plans for the building due to the cost of such space. Similar to South Hall, the original appropriation was insufficient. A second request was made for $13,000. This, along with $7,000 in private donations got the project to the finish line, although delayed from the original finish date. The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 4, 1865, and the dedication took place on October 6, 1866. The chemical laboratory was housed in the basement and the first floor. The first floor also contained laboratories and offices for the Department of Physical Science along with general lecture rooms. The chapel was located on the second floor.

On June 18, 1897, North Hall was struck by lightning causing a fire that destroyed the second floor and damaged space occupied by the physics department. In three hours, the University library lost 24,727 books and 12,000 to 15,000 pamphlets, many of which were rare and irreplaceable such as the Talbot Collection. The fire took the life of an Iowa City fireman as he attempted to save the library's card index trays.

Following the fire, a University committee asked the state legislature to levy a special mill tax on property to help restore the library. Contractors were immediately employed to restore North Hall. The original gable roof with chimneys was replaced with a flat slate roof.

Over the years, North Hall was occupied by the Home Economics Department (moved in in 1912), the School of Music, and the Department of Speech. In 1942, the building shifted to storage space, and in the summer of 1949, it was demolished and removed from the Pentacrest.

Alternate name: Home Economics Building

Photo years: 1865, 1890s, 1897, 1920

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Armory and Power Plant, 1879

By 1879, the Board of Regents decided that the time had come to begin using steam to heat the University buildings. The first steam power plant and armory was built just southwest of the Old Capitol. The building served as the power plant until 1920 when a new plant was constructed. At that time, the chimneys were removed from the old power plant, and the Department of Electrical Engineering moved in. The building was referred to as the Hall of Electrical Engineering until it caught fire and was demolished sometime in the early 1920s. 5 

Alternate name: Hall of Electrical Engineering

Photo years: 1900s, 1905, 1920s, 1920s, 1920s

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Medical Building, 1882

Dr. J.C. Shrader, a University of Iowa medical faculty member helped secure an appropriation of $30,000 for a new medical building. The Medical Building was constructed on the Pentacrest in 1882.

As mentioned previously, the Medical Building was destroyed in a fire in 1901 alongside South Hall.

Photo years: 1890s view from east, 1890s view from south, 1901

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Water Closet, 1880s

The Water Closet first appears in campus maps starting in 1892 and 1893. The building often appears just to the left of the Old Capitol in photos from that time. The elegant little building served as restroom facilities for faculty and students until plumbing was installed in other University buildings at the beginning of the 1900s. 5  Campus maps from 1904 to 1909 refer to the building as the Carpenter Shop, indicating that the building was renovated for alternative purposes. The Carpenter Shop was demolished in 1909 to create space for the new Physics Building (present day MacLean Hall).

Alternate name: Carpenter Shop

Photo Years: 1893, 1900, 1900s, 1908

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Science Hall, 1885

Known today as Calvin Hall, Old Science Hall spent the first 20 years of its life on the Pentacrest. In 1883, the University requested an appropriation of $30,000 for a new science building. The Twentieth General Assembly exceeded the offer, providing $45,000. The University's Visiting Committee traveled to Madison, Wisconsin and Ann Arbor, Michigan among other locations to tour science buildings at other universities. They concluded that the new Science Hall would only be large enough to house the Natural Science Department.

After less than ten years, Old Science Hall became unsuitable for the Natural Science Department. Plans were devised to construct the Hall of Natural Science (present day Macbride Hall). To make room for the new building, the 300 ton Old Science Hall was moved 150 feet using horses and over 1,000 screw jacks. Remarkably, classes continued in the building even as it was moved at a rate of two feet per day. 1 

Following relocation, the building was occupied by botany and geology. The third floor was also devoted to museum space. From 1927 to 1929, the building was renovated and additions were added to provide more adequate space for geology. In 1964, the building was officially renamed Calvin Hall after Samuel Calvin, a distinguished geology faculty member and curator of the Museum of Natural History. Today, Calvin Hall hosts a variety of student services, and its Italianate red-brick exterior is a reminder of the red-brick campus that once was. 1  

Alternate name: Geology Building, Calvin Hall

Photo years: 1900s, 1905, 1910s, 1939, 2016

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Astronomical Observatory, 1874 & 1891

The Pentacrest was actually home to two different astronomical observatories. The first observatory, a small brick building, was built in 1874 at the north end of Clinton Street, where the President's home currently stands. The state legislature donated two lots for the observatory to be constructed, and the Board of Regents requested that Professor Leonard submit plans for the building. Requesting only $6,500, Leonard detailed an observatory 21 feet square and four stories high with a nearly flat roof. The small building would contain space for magnetic, optical, and meteorological observatory. Once construction was complete, the observatory was open for students every Saturday night.

In 1891, the second observatory was constructed on the Pentacrest (slightly west of the location marker on the map). The small wooden observatory caused the former observatory to stand unused. Several ideas were presented for the old observatory. Some wanted the building to maintain its original purpose while ideas were presented to convert the building to a residential dwelling or to simply demolish the building. Finally, in 1895, the carpenter shop was moved into the old observatory. In 1899, the Governor Larabee suggested the the old observatory lot be used for some other purpose. In 1906, the old observatory was moved to the Pentacrest to make room for the President's house. The building reached the end of its life in 1924 when it was torn down to construct University Hall (present day Jessup Hall).

Photo years: 1906, 1900-1910, 1900-1910

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Weights and Measures Building, 1892

Not much archived history exists on the Weights and Measures Building. The 1892 campus map is the first to show the building on the Pentacrest. The building continued to appear on campus maps over time, but it was often left off of the legend due to its smaller role on campus. By 1924 the building had been demolished to make room for University Hall (present day Jessup Hall). Mysteriously, the building is not documented by any photographs taken during that time.

Photo years: 1892, 1904

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Dental Building, 1894

The Old Dental Building was built by a $25,000 appropriation from the Twenty-Fifth General Assembly. Previously housed in the basement of South Hall, the Dental College was in need of additional space for equipment and classes. A change in construction plans for the building led to an additional $2,500 from the General Assembly and slightly over $2,500 from the University’s income fund. Upon completion in 1894, the building contained clinic and demonstration space, a laboratory for 150 students, and lecture rooms and offices. In 1906, an addition was built on the Dental Building which allowed the college to utilize the space for 11 more years. In 1917, the Dental College moved to present-day Trowbridge Hall, and the University Observational Schools moved in. The two wings on the west side of the building were torn down in 1923 to accommodate construction of Jessup Hall. In 1927, the Department of Buildings and Grounds moved into the Old Dental Building. The building also housed financial aid, psychology, and art throughout its lifetime. Finally, in 1975, Old Dental was demolished, and the Pentacrest stood with its remaining five buildings.

Alternate names: Observational Schools Building, Physical Plant Administration Building

Photo years: 1894, 1907, 1910s, 1946, 1950s

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Engineering Shops & Mining Engineering Laboratory, 1901

Following the fire that demolished South Hall and the Medical Building, a temporary structure was built to house the Medical College (later called the Engineering Shops). The foundation of South Hall was still intact, so it remained in place for the temporary structure. Engineering students assisted with the construction which was complete in 14 days. The Engineering Shops along with the Mining Engineering Laboratory (directly south of the Engineering Shops) appeared in campus maps in 1904. The Mining Engineering Laboratory was demolished in 1907 but the Engineering Shops remained on the Pentacrest until 1909 when the Physics Building was constructed (present day MacLean Hall).

Photo year: 1901, 1901

Created by Alyssa Schaeffer

Facilities Information Services and Campus Planning & Development Intern, 2021-2023

References

  1. Scott, J. B. & Lehnertz, R. P. (2016). The University of Iowa guide to campus architecture (2nd edition). University of Iowa Press.
  2. University Libraries. (2020). Iowa digital library. Retrieved from  https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ .
  3. Office of Strategic Communications. (2023). UIowa photoshelter. Retrieved from  https://uiowa.photoshelter.com/index .
  4. Bates, K. V. (1949). History of the State University of Iowa: Aspects of the physical structure. [Master's thesis, The University of Iowa].
  5. Boller, M. (n.d.). The forgotten four - SUI's little engines that could. Our Iowa Heritage. Retrieved March 21, 2023 from  https://ouriowaheritage.com/our-iowa-heritage-red-brick-campus-the-little-four/ .