The Traveling Wheelchair

Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115-5597
Phone: 617-267-9300
Home: http://www.mfa.org/index.asp
 
Yesterday my friends and I decided to head to the Museum of Fine Arts because we wanted to do a wheelchair accessibility review of the Museum and check out the remodeled entrance on the North side called State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance. This entrance had been closed for 30 years and in the past it was always used as the main entrance. It is now reopen and is very wheelchair accessible, with wide ramps on both sides of the staircase that lead to the entrance doors.

There is a plaque on the new ramps at this entry that say: “MAIDA STOCKER ABRAHMS 1938-2002 – SHE NURTURED AND INSPIRED THE SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY AND HELPED CREATE INCLUSION FOR ALL”. Wow! I loved reading this. Maida must have been a wonderful person for she really cared about making everything accessible to all!

The main entry doors are automatic doors that lead you into a Foyer and here is another automatic door that leads you into the Museum. The Museum hopes re-opening this entrance will help the traffic flow in the Museum run more smoothly. There is a beautiful staircase in the Museum but two elevators for us in wheelchairs to use.
 
The Museum does have a limited number of FREE TICKETS for visitors with disabilities. To reserve a ticket call Valerie at 617-369-3302. Personal Care Attendants always get in FREE. The Museum is also FREE on Wednesdays after 4 PM. They also have three open houses a year which is FREE to all on Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Day and Memorial Day.
 
There are handicapped parking spaces right up front on the side street in front of the building. The sidewalk is right here and gives you easy access to the Museum, which is all one level on the West Wing/Museum /Road Entrance. There are no steps or stairs here as it’s all on one level at this entrance.
 
The door at this entrance is a push button automatic door. Once inside you’ll notice that they have loaner wheelchairs available if you need one right up front. We headed to the restrooms to see how wheelchair accessible they are.  It’s an easy access straight in to the restroom. There is a large handicap stall and the ADA required safety grab bars are easy to reach.  There is an accessible sink in the handicap stall that has covered pipes under the accessible sink which is now ADA required. All first floor restrooms are wheelchair accessible. This wing of the Museum has two elevators that lead to the 2nd level.
 
There is a Café called The Galleria on the first level which is right around the corner from the ticket stand. The food was good and the counter height was reachable for me in my wheelchair. The aisles could have been wider for maneuvering my wheelchair was a little tight. I found that the table heights are good for a person in a wheelchair. This Museum also has  a video screen that shows a virtual tour of the Museum that is fun to watch and it has Closed Captioning for the hard of hearing and deaf to read on the screen. 
 
Some Galleries are currently closed due to new construction. All construction will be completed in 2010. This new area will hold new galleries which will increase space for The American Collection. It will introduce about 53 new exhibits and increase space by 35% which will help increase room for maneuverability. 

We also checked out a room called the Sharf Visitors Center which is right off the new Fenway Entrance. This room had MAC computer’s which shows you all the Museum of Fine Arts has to offer and other museums around the Boston area as well.  This computer is very wheelchair accessible and it was easy for me to use and I enjoyed using this computer.
 
We then took the elevator by the rotunda upstairs. There are doors to some exhibits that are not automatic but you don’t have to worry about opening them for you can always rely on Security Personel or Museum staff person to open the doors for you. They are at every exhibit and always open the doors for me.

Once upstairs we first headed to an exhibit that I love to see every time I come here. It is the Egyptian, Nubian, and Ancient Near Eastern Art. On my way to see this exhibit I noticed a Boston Red Sox display that caught my eye. Some items were from the 2004 American League Championship series and the base was from the 2007 World Series. The jersey and cleats warn by Daisuke Matsuzaka on Opening Day in Japan 2007 were in this display. I enjoyed seeing this display most of all today.
 
Arriving at the Art of the Ancient World next, my friends and I looked at the Egyptian exhibition where I saw an Egyptian Couple which is one of my favorite exhibits. There was an Egyptian Sarcophagus of the King’s bodily daughter Meresankh, and the Great Perfection Kings Wife. All the exhibits are very easy for me to view.

My second favorite of the Egyptian Exhibit is a reproduction of a portable bed that was from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres (2551-2528 BC). The bed had a head rest that was made of wood, silver, gold sheet, copper, leather and faience. It slanted to the footrest with a canopy. This bed was for use when the court moved providing privacy for the Queen. When the Queen was in it she always was at her side leaning her neck on the head piece. Wow that sure seemed uncomfortable. The footrest kept the mattress from falling forward.
 
Other exhibits that are accented for people to go see are The Arts of Europe, The Arts of Asia, The Americas, The Modern World and The Art of the Ancient World. All of the exhibits that we have been to including these are all wheelchair accessible and can all be looked at with ease for a person sitting in a wheelchair
 
The Museum of Fine Arts gets FIVE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. Even though the Museum is under some construction for renovations it is still very wheelchair accessible.