The two-story brick structure was designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson.

Completed in 1917, it features elongated Chicago-style windows on the upper floors and simple geometric details on the cornice level that reflect the Collegiate Gothic style.

The building was built as a speculative venture by Davis S. Chamberlain, who was one of the founders of his family's drug manufacturing company.

In 1916 there were 111 motor related firms in Des Moines that was valued at $12 million in annual trade.

This article about a property in Polk County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.