Many children of the 20th century remember the traveling libraries known as bookmobiles.
The 1953 photo accompanying this article shows children visiting a Chattanooga Public Library bookmobile near the then-new Boone-Hysinger Homes public housing complex in East Chattanooga.
The photograph was taken at the intersection of Hardy Street and Roanoke Avenue by Chattanooga News-Free Press photographer Bob Sherrill. The children in this photo would be in their mid- to late-70s today.
In 1953, the Boone-Hysinger Homes were mainly populated by working class whites. Over time, the complex gradually became majority Black. The complex was an East Chattanooga landmark for almost 60 years.
The name was later changed to the Harriet Tubman Homes. The property was purchased by the city in the 2010s and has been converted into an economic development site called East Chattanooga Rising. Some of the property is being developed into the $61 million Nippon Paint USA automotive paint factory, according to previous news reports.