Pedestrian Mall

Way to go, Iowa City. You’ve proven that a city doesn’t have to be ginormous to offer stunning and pedestrian-​friendly public spaces. From the student painted benches and boutique shops to the tree canopy overhead, the Pedestrian Mall is one of the many bright spots in downtown Iowa City. Note: parking is easy and several restaurants are within arm’s reach.

This is such a beautiful public space!
Lots of shops, excellent restaurants, a water fountain/​splash pad, huge playground with a new cushiony rubber surface (as of late 2014), benches, and loads of shade trees.
There’s a great vibe in downtown Iowa City and the Ped Mall really pulls it all together.

I’m a big fan! While visiting Coralville/​Iowa City last week, we were driving to find a bite to eat when we, in fact, stumbled across the downtown Iowa City Pedestrian Mall. Or, more accurately, we were drawn out of our car when I heard some brilliant merengue playing in the square.
I wouldn’t call this a «shopping mall,» per se, but rather a wonderful setting to partake in food, beverages, music and the like with great people. Of course, this visit was during summer – and students were not crawling the place as I hear they tend to do during the school year. But WOW. We spent a beautiful evening listening to musica latina, watching people dance salsa, merengue, and we had a nice little meal of hard cider, gourmet cheese and baguette from the nearby «Bread Garden Market.»
There was a water element where children were playing, a playground, and so many great things to look at. And best yet, rather than a huge book-​super-​store, the Iowa City public library is wonderfully placed among it all! Not only is the ICPL aesthetically beautiful, but it is so convenient to stroll in and look around.
Now, I can’t wait to go back to IC this fall and see what it is like around that time of the year.

The ped mall is the local Iowa City downtown walking area that contains restaurants, the public library, retail shops, hotels, bars, and outdoor seating areas. A home to many a festival as well as the IC homeless!
There is a large play area of children, more benches than you can shake a stick at and an area with water spouts that make arches for kids to run under.
There are a plethora of bars and restaurants in the ped mall, the majority of which have outdoor seating, perfect for a drink or bite on a nice evening. Additionally, there is often live music on the ped mall, be it from choirs, local musicians or, periodically, more well known artists.
A nice place to kick back and relax on a nice afternoon or catch a bit to eat in the evening!