Exhibit features photos of Iowa City from 1960s, today

CORALVILLE - A new exhibit at the Johnson County Historical Society Museum features a series of photographs that offer a visit to the past while aiming to stress the importance of historic preservation.

On Sunday, Nov. 20, the exhibit, titled 'Street View: Downtown Iowa City, Then and Now,” is to be unveiled during a program from 3 to 5 p.m. at the museum, 860 Quarry Road in Coralville.

Alyssa McGhghy, exhibit designer for the historical society, said the exhibit is made up of 60 photos, measuring 10-by-10 inches, showing various Iowa City locations. Half the photos were taken about 50 years ago; the other half were taken from the same perspective this year.

McGhghy said the historical society received about 100 photos taken during the 1960s as a donation from Rex Brandstatter, Coralville's unofficial historian and member of the historical society's board of directors.

Adrian Rittenmeyer, former Iowa City fire chief and Brandstatter's uncle, took photographs of downtown Iowa City just before the urban renewal movement, or the redevelopment of the city, sometime between 1958 and 1965.

Brandstatter said his uncle - who was 'enamored” with downtown Iowa City - took the photos with his Kodak camera on the days he had off from the fire department. The photos had been previously sitting in Rittenmeyer's closet for about 40 years.

'He started taking the pictures and it was an absolute love for him,” Brandstatter said.

Rittenmeyer died in 2008.

'He would love that all the time and effort he put in, someone was going to use them,” his nephew said.

The 2016 photographs were taken by Rubin Flores, a Coralville-based photographer who spent months, beginning in January, creating a shot identical to the ones taken by Rittenmeyer, McGhghy said.

The photos feature well-known locations around Iowa City, including Washington Street, the Ped Mall and the Jefferson Building on East Washington Street. McGhghy said a lot of the same structures are still there.

However, some aspects of the 1960s photos are no longer present in the current shots, McGhghy said.

'The old city hall is not there anymore, but the 1960 photo, it's still there,” McGhghy said. 'I think that photo will really evoke a lot of emotion. It was once a huge, beautiful building but now it's a vacant parking lot.”

Various historic items also are part of the exhibit, such as old optical equipment used years ago at McDonald Optical on South Clinton Street in Iowa City.

The exhibit - to be installed by Nov. 18 - is to remain in place until the Johnson County Historical Society Museum moves to its new location at the Iowa River Landing, sometime in 2018 or 2019, McGhghy said.

McGhghy said the mission of the photographs is to show the importance of historic preservation.

'We're hoping people coming out of the exhibit will have an understanding of how important it is for us to preserve our historic buildings,” McGhghy said.

If you go

- What: Exhibition Opening - 'Street View: Downtown Iowa City, Then and Now”

- When: 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, following the presentation of the Irving Weber Award Ceremony at 2 p.m.

- Where: Johnson County Historical Society Museum, 860 Quarry Road, Coralville

- Cost: Free

Museum Information

- Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

- Admission: $5; members and children age 11 and younger are free.

- Info: (319) 351-5738