Foster Auditorium

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Foster Auditorium
File:Foster Auditorim.png
Map
LocationUniversity of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
OwnerUniversity of Alabama
OperatorUniversity of Alabama
Capacity5,400
Opened1939
Tenants
Alabama Crimson Tide
Men's Basketball (1939–1968)
Women's Basketball (1975, 2011–present)
Volleyball (1974–1995, 2011–present)
Foster Auditorium
Wallace standing against desegregation while being confronted by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach at the University of Alabama.
Foster Auditorium is located in Alabama
Foster Auditorium
LocationTuscaloosa, Alabama
NRHP reference No.05000457
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 5, 2005[1]
Designated NHLApril 5, 2005[2]

Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was built in 1939 and has been used for Alabama basketball, women's sports (in the 1970s and 1980s), graduations, lectures, concerts, and other large gatherings, including registration. Its status as the largest indoor building on campus came to an end in 1968 with the opening of the Memorial Coliseum. The building housed the Department of Kinesiology until 2006. In April 2009 the University announced a major renovation for the auditorium. After the renovation the Crimson Tide women's basketball and volleyball programs will move back to Foster Auditorium, their original home.[3][4]

The building was declared a National Historic Landmark on April 5, 2005.[2]

Sports history

Foster Auditorium was the site of a full court shot during the January 4, 1955 basketball game between the University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina. Alabama player George Linn made the 84 feet 11 inch shot at the end of the first half. The shot was featured in Sports Illustrated, and is commemorated at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[5] A brass marker was placed in the gym floor to indicate the location of the shot.

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

Vivian Malone arriving to register for classes at the University of Alabama's Foster Auditorium in 1963.

More than any other event, Foster Auditorium is known as the site of the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" incident. On June 11, 1963, Governor George C. Wallace, making good on a campaign pledge to not allow integration of the University, stood in the doorway of the building on the day of registration. He was attempting to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling at the University. President John F. Kennedy called on the Alabama National Guard to forcibly allow the students to enter the building if need be. Calling it "an unwelcomed, unwanted, unwarranted and force-induced intrusion upon the campus," [6] Wallace denounced the actions, but, seeing as he could not win against the combined efforts of the Guard, federal marshals and Deputy United States Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, stepped aside, returning to the state capital as Malone and Hood entered for registration. The incident is seen as one of the seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement in America.

The scene was depicted (with artistic liberties taken) in the film Forrest Gump.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Foster Auditorium". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  3. ^ Jones, Adam (2009-04-21). "University to renovate Foster Auditorium". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2009-04-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Drago, Danielle (2009-04-23). "Foster to house women's basketball, volleyball". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2009-04-23. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link]
  5. ^ Nevin, Will (2009-04-30). "A Future for Foster". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2009-04-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link]
  6. ^ "ADAH: Governor George C. Wallace's School House Door Speech". Retrieved 2007-05-04.

External links

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