Midtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium

Photographed By Shane Oliver, April 11, 2020

1. Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium Marker

Inscription. Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium was dedicated to Vanderbilt students and alumni killed in World War II on December 6, 1952. The site of civil rights activities; here in 1966 Nashville's Pearl High School won the first desegregated TSSAA basketball championship tournament. Here in 1967 Vanderbilt freshman Perry Wallace and Godfrey Dillard desegregated SEC basketball, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael spoke at the Impact Symposium, and Otis Redding preformed his final major concert. In 1968, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy spoke here shortly before he was killed.

Erected 2019 by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3A 238.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Government & Politics • Sports • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Historical Commission series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 6, 1952.

Location. 36° 8.703′ N, 86° 48.416′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Midtown. Marker is on 25th Avenue South. Located directly in front of Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2420 Vanderbilt Pl, Nashville TN 37240, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking

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distance of this marker. Duncan College Preparatory School for Boys (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dudley Field / Vanderbilt Stadium (approx. 0.2 miles away); Anne Dallas Dudley (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Parthenon (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cockrill Spring (approx. ¼ mile away); Natchez Trace (approx. ¼ mile away); Lieutenant James Simmons Timothy (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Old Woman's Home (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.

Photographed By Carver Moore, June 7, 2019

2. Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 12, 2019, by Carver Moore of Cookeville, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 364 times since then and 53 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 28, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 2. submitted on June 12, 2019, by Carver Moore of Cookeville, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.