Lang
7/2/25
A landmark on the University of Iowa campus has a new home.
The “Brain Rock” was originally located on the T. Anne Cleary Walkway…also known as North Capitol Street… right in front of the UI Chemistry Building. On Tuesday, the UI moved the 19-ton stone to an area outside the Medical Education Research Facility on Newton Road.
The grooved rock …technically named “Ridge and Furrow”…was placed in front of the Chemistry Building in 2011. Since then, it had been a popular post-last call target for students walking from downtown Iowa City to Catlett residence hall, the Greek houses on Ellis Avenue and the apartments on Ridgeland Avenue and North Riverside Drive to stop and urinate. The UI would eventually put up security cameras, leading to multiple students being charged with public urination in recent years.
UI officials say they regularly move campus art to provide “a fresh opportunity for engagement.”