Foster Auditorium

Foster Auditorium
Location University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Owner University of Alabama
Operator University of Alabama
Capacity 3,800
Opened 1939
Tenants
Alabama Crimson Tide
Men's Basketball (1939–1968)
Women's Basketball (1975, 2011–2016)
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.
Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Coordinates 33°12′28″N 87°32′38″W / 33.20778°N 87.54389°W / 33.20778; -87.54389Coordinates: 33°12′28″N 87°32′38″W / 33.20778°N 87.54389°W / 33.20778; -87.54389
NRHP Reference # 05000457
Significant dates
Added to NRHP April 5, 2005[1]
Designated NHL April 5, 2005[2]

Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was built in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration project 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 moved back to Foster Auditorium, their original home.[3][4][5]

The facility is named for Richard Clarke Foster, president of the University of Alabama from 1937 to 1941.

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.[6] 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,"[7] 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 1994 film Forrest Gump.

See also

References

  1. National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "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.
  4. Drago, Danielle (2009-04-23). "Foster to house women's basketball, volleyball". The Crimson White. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  5. "Foster Renovations Unveiled". The Tuscaloosa News. 2010-02-08.
  6. Nevin, Will (2009-04-30). "A Future for Foster". The Crimson White. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  7. "ADAH: Governor George C. Wallace's School House Door Speech". Retrieved 2007-05-04.
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