2131 South Main- Lagomarcino House

Born in Genoa, Italy in 1848, Andy Lagomarcino - as his Burlington friends called him “Andy”, traveled to the new world in 1866 to seek his future. This handsome young Italian lingered a while in New York City where he married Maria Tassina. The couple and their offspring drifted west to Wheeling and eventually settled in Burlington. Between his arrival in Burlington in 1875 and his death in 1907 Lagomachino built ever-expanding retail and wholesale fruit business. By the first decade of the 20th Century, the Lagomarcino-Grupe company-operated branch offices in Cedar Rapids, Creston, Davenport, Dubuque, Ottumwa and other towns like Estherville and St. Louis. He is also credited as being the man who introduced “bananas” to Burlington. The house has five marble fireplaces, that were imported from the old country. At one time the house had gas lights that were manufactured by Steuben.