Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5. ACCESS INFORMATION INC
This company publishes the
Access Entertainment Guide
for the Washington, DC
area. Its website provides reviews of many business and tourist attractions from the
point of view of disabled access. It also covers airports, hotels, museums, arenas
and concert venues, shops, cinemas, and transportation.
Access Information Inc •
21618 Slidell Road, Boyds, MD • 301 528 8664
Google Map
6. HOTELS
Nearly all major hotels have some rooms that are wheelchair-accessible. Some have
roll-in showers. Other services, such as flashing-light fire alarms, tactile paging, or
door knockers, are widely but not universally available. Information can best be ob-
tained by calling a hotel directly.
7. FDR MEMORIAL
Many places in Washington are welcoming to people with disabilities, but probably
none more so than the FDR Memorial. All four outdoor rooms of this monument are
completely accessible. Inscriptions are given in Braille. A sculpture of Franklin D.
Roosevelt in his wheelchair has been added to the memorial.
8. NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
Washington's Zoo (for further details see
National Zoological Park
)
has disabled ac-
cess to nearly all its public areas. The panda environment, for example, is designed
with ramps, and viewing angles are calculated to suit the mobility-impaired. Visitors
in manual wheelchairs should be warned that the grades on some of the paths are
steep.
9. SERVICE ANIMALS
These are allowed anywhere the general public is admitted. It can be convenient to
have special harnesses, but these are not required.
10. SMITHSONIAN INFORMATION
“Smithsonian Access” is online (
www.si.edu
) and is also available in large-print, au-
dio cassette, Braille, and computer disk at
Smithsonian Information
.
