Downtown 
 
 
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    The Iowa City downtown is where the buildings of the University of Iowa, the municipal, county and state governments, and the main business district meet. Old Capitol, the state capitol building from 1842 until 1857 was and s the focal point of the downtown community. Since the removal of the state capital to Des Moines in 1857, both the University and the business districts have grown and developed around it. The center of Iowa City, including the downtown area, was laid out in the original town plat in 1839. It contains a number of Iowa City's best known buildings and many structures which have been placed in the national register for Historic Places. Public parking is available on the streets and in two municipal parking ramps, one on Clinton Street and one on Linn Street.