Located across the street from the south-east corner of the Pentacrest (a four-block-sized parcel of land with a collection of five buildings with the old Iowa Territory capitol in the middle), the Old Capitol Mall was a convenient shopping center for University of Iowa students, faculty, and staff.
US 6 split away from the two routes near the University of Iowa Pentacrest.
George MacLean, president of the University of Iowa from 1899–1911 and whom a building on the Pentacrest is named for, reorganized the academic structure of the University, transforming the Collegiate Department into the College of Liberal Arts, one of the seven colleges established in 1900-01, along with the Graduate College and five professional colleges.