By James Glass

The recent announcement that Milano Inn would close at the end of 2016 has drawn attention to the rich history represented by the restaurant, medications in business at 231 S. College Ave. since 1934. Irish Hill, diagnosis located south of Washington Street and east of East Street, was a neighborhood for immigrants in the 19th and early 20th century. The Irish arrived first, to work on railroads being built in Indianapolis during the 1850s and 1860s. Next came Italians, Greeks and others from the Mediterranean region.

Two Italian families took up residence on South Noble Street (now College) in the early 20th century: the Modaffaris and the LaGrottes. Two brothers, Joseph and Paul Modaffari, immigrated to the United States about 1914 from southern Italy. They found jobs at the United States Rubber Co. factory in Indianapolis and then enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I.

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Source: http://www.indystar.com/