- Foster Auditorium
Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Foster Auditorium| nickname =
location = University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
broke_ground =
opened = 1939
closed =
demolished =
owner = University of Alabama
operator = University of Alabama| surface =
construction_cost=
architect =
former_names = | tenants = previously:Alabama Crimson Tide
(Basketball, women's athletics)
seating_capacity = 5,400Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the
University of Alabama inTuscaloosa, 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."The Stand In The Schoolhouse Door"
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 andJames Hood , from enrolling at the University. PresidentJohn 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," [ cite web |url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/schooldoor.html |title= ADAH: Governor George C. Wallace's School House Door Speech |accessdate=2007-05-04 |format= |work= ] Wallace denounced the actions, but, seeing as he could not win against the combined efforts of the Guard, federal marshalls and DeputyUnited 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 theCivil Rights Movement in America.The building was declared a
National Historic Landmark on April 5, 2005.The scene was immortalized (with artistic liberties taken) in the film "
Forrest Gump ".ee also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama Notes
Infobox_nrhp | name =Foster Auditorium
nrhp_type =nhl
caption = Vivian Malone arriving to register for classes at the University of Alabama's Foster Auditorium in 1963.
location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama
locmapin = Alabama
area =
architect=
architecture=
designated=April 05 ,2005 cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1919700228&ResourceType=Building
title=Foster Auditorium |accessdate=2007-10-10|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added =April 05 ,2005 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=05000457
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