If you attended Brainerd High School in the 1960s, this popular Brainerd Road drive-in might look familiar.
The Dairy Gold restaurant, near the corner of Brainerd and Moore roads, was a favorite cruising spot for teens in 1963, the year this photo appeared in the Chattanooga News-Free Press. The address, 4903 Brainerd Road, is now the site of a Waffle House restaurant.
The image is part of a collection of vintage newspaper photos appearing on the website ChattanoogaHistory.com, which is curated by history buff Sam Hall.
In 1963 there were five Dairy Gold locations in the Chattanooga, area according to newspaper records: this one on Brainerd Road, plus stores at 1750 Dayton Boulevard, 3116 South Broad St., 1112 Hixson Pike and 2220 East Main St.
This photo appeared in the newspaper in May 1963, 57 years ago. At the time, “Dr. No,” the first movie in the James Bond film series, was playing at Chattanooga theaters. It was also about three months before a historic march on Washington in August 1963, advancing civil rights.