SAVE THE SLEZAK! – Here’s the latest!

Posted on by

Speak Up to Protect this 1870s Iowa City Icon! – TUESDAY, MAY 7th!

Did you know the building that houses Pagliai’s Pizza is called the Slezak Building, after the original owners? Read more about this historic building and its three adjacent buildings here.

Saving Iowa City’s Slezak National Hall & three adjoining buildings – 302-316 Bloomington Street – Iowa City.

So, here’s where we need you to help. SPEAK UP & SHOW UP…

The next City Hall meeting is planned for Tuesday, May 7. This will be the second of the three needed positive votes to re-zone the Slezak property as a historical landmark…

On April 2, a standing-room-only crowd encouraged the Iowa City City Council to say yes to designating The Slezak property as a city historic landmark.

On April 16, despite reservations from Mayor Teague and Pro Tem Salih, the first of three positive votes was recorded – 7-0! A victory, but a shallow one, because there is still a hesitancy by Teague & Salih to declare the entire property (all four buildings) as a historic landmark! Pictures from that meeting are shown here.

The second of three votes will be taken on Tuesday, May 7th. Once more, we will need a strong showing to hopefully convince Teague & Salih the urgency of saving the whole property. If they both vote ‘no’, the Slezak is lost forever!

6 pm – Iowa City Council – Formal Meeting – open to the public. This is where we need you to be present and a few of you to share your views!

  • Please show up in person – at the Iowa City City Council public meeting. Tuesday, May 7 in the City Council Chambers in City Hall. The Council needs to hear why these four buildings matter to Iowan Citians. You can learn more about the history of these building here. The 6 pm hearing is open to the public and the City Council wants to hear from Iowa Citians. If you care about this historic site, step up and say so. Comments should be brief (3 minutes)
  • Write in support of preserving the Slezak property – ALL FOUR BUILDINGS. Please send your emails of support to council@iowa-city.org. HERE IS A COPY OF MY LATEST LETTER.

A hearty thanks to everyone who has supported the effort to landmark the Slezak property. Our efforts have been very effective thus far and we NEED YOU TO CONTINUE for one more PUBLIC MEETING. Thank you for taking part to help convince Iowa City leaders that preserving important historic architecture and cultural heritage matters greatly!

  • PLEASE PASS THE WORD! Let’s SAVE THE SLEZAK!

Leave a Reply