A three-story brick building stands on a corner in this 6-1/2" x 4-1/2" black and white photograph. The building has street level display windows with appliances in them. Two sides of the building have signs along the edge of the roof; one reads "Electric Building" and the other reads "Gas & Electric Building". Cars are parked on the two brick streets that intersect in front of the building. Traffic lights hang at the intersection, and street car tracks run down the center of one of the streets. "Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Co." is written on the photograph.
The "Electric Building" at the southeast corner of 14th and O Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska was built as the Chapin Building in 1911. Architects A. W. Woods and John Cordner designed the office and retail structure, which was constructed by Charles Olsen for H. A. and L. C. Chapin. The Chapin Building name and the brothers' initials still grace the west entrance. C. N. Chubb was president of the Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Co. in the late 1920s, the time of this photo. Iowa-Nebraska acquired the electric generating and distribution assets of the Lincoln Traction Company, which traced its origins to the late nineteenth century switch of streetcars from horse-drawn to electric trolleys. A 1929 advertisement for the business noted that "You Can Buy Only Good Appliances Here." The signs on the building make it clear the utility company sold both electric and gas appliances. A glimpse of Lincoln City Library's Carnegie-funded downtown main library is visible at right.
