<p>Depends on what you consider ‘glory days’, ihatereading…</p>
<p>IMO the glory days were over when downtown became overpopulated with bars not long after it was pedestrianized. Come on, the way to make money at that point (early '90’s?) was to open some bar/club just like six others in a two-block radius. And there was no doubt a nod-nod-wink-wink with the Iowa City police & campus security to allow 19-year-olds into the bars, of course to drink nothing stronger than a Mr. Pibb.</p>
<p>Because of this, some of the longtime quaint shops/stores present in the '60’s/'70’s/'80s were squeezed out, and there you were. My take is that in time the IC police saw that 1) not enough revenue was being taken in solely from walking/staggering intoxications, and started infiltrating the bars in plainclothes to make arrests inside, and 2) this underage thing in the bars was becoming a real nuisance & more importantly a huge liability issue. </p>
<p>So…despite the tax dollars these establishments were bringing in, to their credit the Iowa City governors decided they had created a monster & slayed it. Personally, I think this is a good thing moving forward, although I understand the negative by-products like increased house parties, alcohol in dorms, etc., but it’s nothing that wouldn’t have been there anyway. Bottom line is that kids find a way. And recently I’ve seen a couple new shops opening up in place of closed bars. Let’s hope that continues & returns downtown Iowa City to the charming, dynamic area it was in the past.</p>