Ames, IA

Ames is closely associated with Iowa State University, whose predecessor, the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, was established in 1858. Iowa accepted the provisions of the Morrill Act in 1862; the agricultural college received the land-grant award in 1864 and opened in 1869. George Washington Carver arrived as a student in 1891, earned his bachelor's degree in 1894 and subsequently became the institution's first African American faculty member.

The university also helped establish Ames as a destination for visiting orchestras and performers. Stephens Auditorium, completed in 1969, was the first building of the Iowa State Center. Named for benefactor C. Y. Stephens, it was financed through gifts and grants from the university community and its supporters. In 2004, the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects selected it as the state's Building of the Century, recognising both its architecture and its cultural significance.