Foster Auditorium

Foster Auditorium
Tenants

Location	University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Owner	University of Alabama
Operator	University of Alabama
Capacity	3,800
Opened	1939
Alabama Crimson Tide Men's Basketball (1939–1968) Women's Basketball (1975, 2011–present) Volleyball (1974–1995, 2011–present)

Significant dates

Foster Auditorium
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
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
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.

References

↑ Staff (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 "Foster Auditorium". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
↑ Jones, Adam (2009-04-21). "University to renovate Foster Auditorium". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
↑ 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.
↑ "Foster Renovations Unveiled". The Tuscaloosa News. 2010-02-08.
↑ Nevin, Will (2009-04-30). "A Future for Foster". The Crimson White. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
↑ "ADAH: Governor George C. Wallace's School House Door Speech". Retrieved 2007-05-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Foster Auditorium.

A Sleight of History: University of Alabama's Foster Auditorium

The University of Alabama

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Programs	Football Men's basketball Baseball Golf Gymnastics Softball Volleyball Women's basketball

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Endowment: $631.95 million
Students: 307,100
Faculty: 1,175

Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball

Venues	Little Hall (1915–1939) Foster Auditorium (1939–1968) Coleman Coliseum (1968–present)

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Premo-Porretta national championship in bold

Basketball arenas of the Southeastern Conference

Coleman Coliseum (Alabama, men's)
Foster Auditorium (Alabama, women's)
Bud Walton Arena (Arkansas)
Auburn Arena (Auburn)
O'Connell Center (Florida)
Stegeman Coliseum (Georgia)
Rupp Arena (Kentucky, men's)
Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky, women's)
Maravich Assembly Center (LSU)
Humphrey Coliseum (Mississippi State)
Mizzou Arena (Missouri)
The Pavilion at Ole Miss (Ole Miss)
Colonial Life Arena (South Carolina)
Carolina Coliseum (South Carolina, alternate university-managed venue)
Thompson–Boling Arena (Tennessee)
Reed Arena (Texas A&M)
Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt)

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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Category Portal WikiProject

George Wallace

Family	Lurleen Wallace George Wallace, Jr. Cornelia Wallace

Campaigns	1964 presidential campaign 1968 presidential campaign 1972 presidential campaign 1976 presidential campaign

Miscellaneous	1963 Inaugural Address Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Foster Auditorium American Independent Party Arthur Bremer An Assassin's Diary George Wallace (1997 film)

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Foster Auditorium

Sports history

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

See also

References

External links