Portsmouth Community Library

Portsmouth Community Library, also known as the Portsmouth Colored Community Library, is a historic library building located at Portsmouth, Virginia. It was built in 1945 at 804 South Street. It is a one-story, three bay, brick building with a hipped roof. It was built to provide for the reading needs of Portsmouth’s African Americans. In 1959, two local dentists, Dr. James Holley and Dr. Hugo A. Owens, successfully sued the City of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Public Library to integrate the public library, which resulted in the closure of the Portsmouth Community Library. The building has been relocated twice since it was closed in 1962 after integration of the public library system; first in 1967 to the parking lot of Ebenezer Baptist Church, 730 Effingham Street, then since August 2007, it has been located at the present location, 904 Elm Avenue.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth Community Library