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Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and the fifth-largest city in Alabama with a population of 83,052 ....
. 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
Coleman Coliseum

Coleman Coliseum is a 15,316-seat multi-purpose arena in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is home to the University of Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide basketball and artistic gymnastics teams....
. The building housed the Department of Kinesiology until 2006.

than any other event, Foster Auditorium is known as the site of the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

File:Wallace at University of Alabama edit2.jpgThe Stand in the Schoolhouse Door was an incident that took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on 11 June, 1963....
" incident.






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Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and the fifth-largest city in Alabama with a population of 83,052 ....
. 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
Coleman Coliseum

Coleman Coliseum is a 15,316-seat multi-purpose arena in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is home to the University of Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide basketball and artistic gymnastics teams....
. The building housed the Department of Kinesiology until 2006.

Stand In The Schoolhouse Door

Vivian Malone Registering
More than any other event, Foster Auditorium is known as the site of the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

File:Wallace at University of Alabama edit2.jpgThe Stand in the Schoolhouse Door was an incident that took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on 11 June, 1963....
" 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
James Hood

James Hood was one of the first African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked them from enrolling at the all-white university....
, from enrolling at the University. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
 called on the Alabama National Guard
United States National Guard

The National Guard of the United States is a Military reserve force composed of U.S. state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive Military of the United States service for the United States ....
 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," Wallace denounced the actions, but, seeing as he could not win against the combined efforts of the Guard, federal marshalls and Deputy United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the government of the United States....
 Nicholas Katzenbach
Nicholas Katzenbach

Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach is an United States lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration....
, stepped aside, returning to the state capital
Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the Capital , second most populous city, and the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama....
 as Malone and Hood entered for registration. The incident is seen as one of the seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring approximately between 1960 to 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion....
 in America.

The building was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, :wiktionary:site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States for its historical significance....
 on April 5, 2005.

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

Forrest Gump is a comedy-drama film based on the Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The film was a huge commercial success, earning United States dollar677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year....
.

See also

  • List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama
    List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama

    The National Historic Landmarks in Alabama are representations of a broad sweep of history from the precolonial era, through the American Civil War, the African-American Civil Rights Movement , and the Space Age....