1930 University of Iowa Bird's Eye View Plan of the University of Iowa

The only obtainable example of an extremely rare bird's-eye view of the University of Iowa.

This is a 1930 bird's-eye view of the University of Iowa published by the university itself. The view presents the campus aspirationally, not as it was when the view was issued, but as the university imagined itself in the future - including projected building projects and other expansions.

A Closer Look

Perhaps the most notable projected building is the campus library, proposed in an architectural ethic similar to the Pentacrest buildings to its left. It took another 20 years to build the current library. Other buildings include a university hospital, a field house and armory, a 'psychopathic hospital', and a President's mansion. The buildings are identified by name and categorized along the bottom border, except for the Old Capitol, the Iowa Memorial Union, and East Hall.

Pioneering Psychology

In the 1930s, the University of Iowa emerged as a pioneering American university that blended academic innovation with social progress during one of the nation’s most challenging decades. Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, the university expanded as a center for creative and intellectual experimentation, particularly in the arts, psychology, and writing. It became the first public university to accept creative work - such as fiction, poetry, and plays - as theses for graduate degrees, laying the foundation for what would become the world-renowned Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1936. The university was also at the forefront of psychological and educational research, home to influential figures like Carl Seashore and George D. Stoddard, who advanced the study of intelligence, creativity, and human development.

Publication History and Census

This view was created and published by the University of Iowa in 1930. The only other known example is part of the Special Collections at the library of the University of Iowa.

Condition

Good. Closed tear extending seven (7) inches into upper right corner of printed area professionally repaired on verso. Exhibits toning and foxing along left side.