Greenfield in Adair County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Light Plant
1940
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2021
1. Light Plant Marker
Greenfield Public Square
Historic District
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States Department of the Interior
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1940.
Location. 41° 18.226′ N, 94° 27.653′ W. Marker is in Greenfield, Iowa, in Adair County. Marker is on South 1st Street north of Southeast Kent Street (State Route 92), on the right when traveling north. Marker is mounted at eye-level, directly on the subject building, just to the right of the front/west entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 211 South 1st Street, Greenfield IA 50849, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Carnegie Library (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Warren Opera House Block and Hetherington Block (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away); The Heaton Block (about 700 feet away); Howe & Olesen Building (about
this page online
Regarding Light Plant. Contributing property, Greenfield Public Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places #14000623.
Also see . . .
1. Greenfield Public Square Historic District: Municipal Light Plant. City website entry:
In 1940 this new light plant was built at a cost of $360,000 and used steam boilers. The plant generated electricity for Greenfield, Fontanelle and 180 miles of Rural Electric Administration lines. It’s now used as back-up power for the City of Greenfield to avoid long outages. The building is in the Art Deco style. Like so many early twentieth century industrial buildings, the light plant façade has repetitive bays of large, steel-framed windows set within utilitarian brick walls. These windows, before air conditioning became widely available, provided ventilation in addition to natural light.(Submitted on March 20, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Greenfield Municipal Utilities History.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2021
2. Light Plant Marker
It was in 1889, just ten years after Thomas A. Edison invented the incandescent electric light bulb, that a group of Greenfield city councilmen and businessmen took hold of what was then a startlingly modern idea - that of lighting the town with electricity from a municipal light plant. Just a year later, in the fall of 1890, their idea was a reality. Greenfield had a municipal light plant, one of the first in Iowa. The far-sighted action by the city fathers came at a time when candles were the main light in homes, kerosene lamps were a fad and gas lamps illuminated the streets...(Submitted on March 20, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 2, 2021
3. Municipal Light Plant (west elevation)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 9, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 19, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 78 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 20, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
