The Hyatt Court branch of the Library took
up a section of the basement area of one of the apartment buildings,
and had its own entrance. It was probably the smallest branch, both
in floor space and in the size of its collection, but it was much
closer than the Van Buren branch for a six-year-old living on Vincent
street. I only had one street to cross (Horatio St).
When the city decided to supply other neighborhoods that were
too far from the nearest branch by inaugurating the bookmobile experience,
the Hyatt Court Branch's collection became the bookmobile's collection,
and the Hyatt Court branch closed down. I could still borrow the
books, but only on Fridays, when the bookmobile visited St. Aloysius
school, or occasional Tuesdays after school, when I could sometimes
catch it before it left Hawkins Street.
The Hyatt Court space remained in the City's control, and when
the polio vaccines became available, it became a clinic for distributing
them. First the Salk hypodermic and later the Sabin sugar cubes,
Sabin I, Sabin III, and Sabin II.
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