The Northside Neighborhood Association (NNA) formed in 1989 in reaction to a proposed helipad that was to be built atop Mercy Hospital. Neighborhood opposition succeeded in persuading the City to reject that plan, and the NNA emerged as an effective neighborhood advocacy and community-building organization. That year was also Iowa City’s sesquicentennial and a tree was planted in North Market Square Park (northwest corner) to mark the occasion. The plaque at the base of the tree reads: "Northside Neighborhood Sesquicentennial 1839-1989." 

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