The menu is simple; pizza.

The people of Iowa City and surrounding area know the name Pagliai’s Pizza to be synonymous with good eats.

Its wallpaper has been updated a few times, there’s gluten free dough available on the menu now, but the classic white boxes with red screen printing, kitchen staff topping pizzas in front of the floor to ceiling windows facing Bloomington Street and stainless steel ovens shining bright back at you as you walk in the front doors.

There’s a freezer stocked full of single topping options or The Deluxe or a Veggie Special for customers to take home with them as a dessert.

But before the .45 acre plot of land where these memories of pizza goodness were made, this block had a long history when the Slezak-Holub-Skarda building was a dance hall, boarding house and then a grocery store.

Slezak Hall opened to the public in 1875 and was owned by Joseph Slezak.

In 2023 the building that houses the restaurant went up for sale, prompting a renewed interest in this historic icon, to officially become one for the record books. It wasn’t just the locals that would flock to this hub of classic pizzas, Pagliai’s has been ranked countlessly in travel and food sites for decades, drawing in visitors for years.

“The community was outrageously in support of preserving the building,” Jordan Sellergren, Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Chair, said.

Historic preservation in Iowa City has a history dating back to 1982, the most recent addition? 302-316 E. Bloomington Street.

A local landmark for decades, now carries a ‘Historic District Overlay’ after Iowa City Council voted unanimously to protect the property. This affords several avenues for tax credits and rehab funding in the event a new owner of the building were to pursue.

Sellergren was recognized with the illustrious Irving B. Weber Award in November. The award recognizes individuals with a distinguished contribution to the research, writing, or preservation of Johnson County History. She partnered with Friends of Historic Preservation on the recent saving of the National Hall Building.

Want to read more?

Check out articles from the Corridor Business Journal, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa City Press-Citizen, Little Village Magazine and Our Iowa Heritage.

Photo credits, Joseph Cress/Think Iowa City 2024, Aurner 1913:690.