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Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach was the site of a series of “roadhouses” and other saloon-like establishments where drinking and gambling were the main attractions. It was located along the western bank of the north of present-day 16th Street (previously 7th Street) and just south of the canal aqueduct over . The Beach was accessible via what would be known as Brighton Boulevard, an unimproved road that ran north along the canal from 16th Street, just west of the present-day intersection of 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The Beach, with… Read More »Brighton Beach

Dilling Candy Company

In 1887 Frank Dilling founded the Dilling Candy Company in Marion, Indiana. The company specialized in butterscotch candy, using a recipe Dilling had previously developed while working as a baker. Dilling moved the company to Indianapolis and incorporated it in 1905. The move near the intersection of South and Senate streets allowed for an increase in production capacity, a development that required the hire of 200 workers. Near the end of , Dilling purchased 23 acres south of Morris Street along the , a site previously owned by the where he… Read More »Dilling Candy Company

El Barrio

Since the late 19th century, a small number of Latinos and Hispanics have called Indianapolis home—illustrated by National Origin numbers on the U.S. Census and later in 1907 when Mexican President General Porfirio Diza appointed Russell B. Harrison of Indianapolis as (honorary) vice . National Origin numbers only account for those who were born in a foreign country, making American-born Latinos and Hispanics statistically invisible. During this time in Indianapolis, no neighborhood, or El Barrio, existed for the early Latino community to grow and flourish. Some lived among other ethnic… Read More »El Barrio

Neuronhurst

In 1888 Dr. William Fletcher, son of Indianapolis pioneer opened W. B. Fletcher’s Sanitorium (later renamed Neuronhurst), the first private facility for the treatment of nervous and mental diseases in Indiana. Fletcher immediately hired , MD as his business partner. Known nationally, the hospital provided respite from the stresses of business and daily life, as well as treatment for more severe afflictions such as paralysis, and drug and alcohol addiction. The sanatorium had at least three different locations, the first at Pennsylvania and North Streets (1888), then on Alabama Street… Read More »Neuronhurst

Polk Sanitary Milk Company

James T. Polk, a prominent businessperson from , Indiana founded Polk Sanitary Milk Company on July 1, 1893. Polk’s milk business was born out of his vegetable canning business, which he began in the early 1870s after returning from serving in the . While profitable, his canning business created a problem—excess food waste. The solution came in the form of cattle. Polk acquired a herd of cattle to consume the food waste and to serve as another revenue source. His first attempt with beef cattle proved useful for his food… Read More »Polk Sanitary Milk Company