There have been at least 18 different buildings on the site we now call the Pentacrest at the University of Iowa. A new exhibit, By Chance and By Design: A History of the Pentacrest, in the Main Library traces the history of this central part of campus. Historic photographs of and documents relating to the building of Pentacrest are on display in the North Exhibition Hall through June.

The Pentacrest is named for the five familiar and imposing structures that grace the bluff overlooking the Iowa River. Old Capitol, constructed from locally mined limestonetemp and capped by its distinctive gold dome, is surrounded by four buildings inspired by the Beaux-Arts Movement that figured so prominently in the Great White City of the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago. These stately landmarks can rightly be regarded as monuments to the persistence and vision of the uncommon men and women who shaped the University of Iowa and who recognized that the character of an institution should be mirrored in its architecture.

For those who cannot visit the Main Library, an online exhibit slideshow of early UI images can be viewed at www.lib.uiowa.edu/exhibits.

The exhibit is free of charge and open to the public during regular Main Library hours.