The Traveling Wheelchair

Boston Harbor Islands
Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-223-8666
http://www.bostonislands.org/isle_spectacle.asp

This past week my mom, Tony, Ric and friend Douglas headed out to Spectacle Island. Daniel, a very kind Park Ranger who took us on a tour of Georges Island told us Spectacle Island is very wheelchair accessible. Spectacle Island is one of the 34 Boston Harbor Islands; it is a 105 acre island that is located 4 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a varied history and today it is a National Park. Spectacle Island is mainly constructed over landfill and is one of the highest points on Boston Harbor.

Spectacle Island has a marina for private boats, a visitor center, a shady porch, exhibits, a cafe, an accessible life-guarded beach, campsites, a bird sanctuary, and five miles of walking trails that lead to the crest of a 157 foot-high hill. It’s a great place to come whether you want to just relax, swim, camp or explore the island. I found Spectacle Island very wheelchair friendly and accessible!!

Wheelchair access from the MBTA Harbor Island Express – Boston to the pier of Spectacle Island is easy for it’s a FLOATING PIER so it is always at equal level with the deck of the ferry for it goes up and down with the tides just like the ferry. Visitors simply walk/wheel over a small accessible threshold ramp from the deck of the ferry to the pier. There are wide accessible ramps leading you to the main wharf of Spectacle Island.

The main wharf is easy to wheel along for it is a wide cement walkway with railings located on both sides in most areas. BEWARE of one area you see as soon as you reach the top of the ramp from the pier for it has no raised lip or railings. There is a cautionary bright yellow area in front that has raised bumps to help warn the visually impaired. If you can’t see it and are in wheelchair you could end up falling into the Boston Harbor! My friend Tony demonstrated here how it could happen and Ric was holding my chair back from the edge :-)

I was in my manual chair when I visited in case my friends needed to lift my chair over any small obstacles which thankfully they didn’t for everything is so accessible. If I had been in my Permobil C350 Power Chair they were worried I may not have seen the yellow marker and may have rolled right into the Boston Harbor!

We told a nice Park Ranger about our concern; she told us the railings are purposely left off this section so charter boats can board or let off passengers. We said we thought it best to have some sort of raised lip here which would prevent a wheelchair from rolling over. It would still allow passengers to board or exit any charters. She kindly told us she would mention our concern to her boss.

As we approached the island from the wharf we saw a nice accessible beach. Life-guards are on duty; there are loaner beach wheelchairs available upon request; there is a wheelchair accessible changing room that is plenty big enough to fit me in my chair with two caregivers/friends; an outdoor shower is fully accessible as well; the buttons to turn on the upper and lower shower head are easily within my reach. It was a hot day and the running water helped cool me off a bit :>)

Park Rangers offer free guided tours of the island or you can explore it yourself. Remember to bring plenty of water on a hot day. All trails are well marked paths with signs. The main trails are made of very fine crushed stone that is compacted and very easy to wheel on. I was in my manual chair but would recommend bringing a power chair for the trails get hilly.

Most all the picnic tables are fully wheelchair accessible because both ends protrude out to comfortably fit a person in a wheelchair. You can bring your own  picnic lunch  or purchase food at Summer Shack Snacks. This snack bar is located in the Visitor Center is a very accessible snack bar. The counter is of perfect wheelchair accessible height.

The Visitor Center is spacious and fully wheelchair accessible. All the Park Rangers are very courteous, kind and helpful. The two information desks are of a perfect height; a water bubbler is of accessible height; a comfortable shady porch is wide and accessible with rocking chairs you can transfer into if you wish.

The restrooms are spacious, wheelchair accessible and fully ADA compliant. The doors are wide enough to fit even the loaner beach wheelchair.

Spectacle Island is environmentally friendly!! The roof of the Visitor Center has solar panels and there is an Energy Cart that allows visitors to experiment with solar energy! The Energy cart is of an accessible height!

Located inside the Visitor Center are many EXHIBITS which educate you on the varied history of this island. All the exhibits are easy to view while seated in a wheelchair. There are some exhibits which have audio sound with a simple push of a button.

I especially liked the hands on exhibit of artifacts; old shark skeletons, sea shells; sea glass and horse bones found on this island. I held the skeleton of a shark. I also enjoyed seeing the  American Oystercatcher eggs that were found on the island.

I learned much of the varied history of Spectacle Island from viewing the Exhibits:

• Thousands of years ago before the ice glaciers melted it was just a narrow strip of beach.
• Native Americans used to hunt and fish here.
• Colonists once used the island for wood, haying and grazing livestock
• From 1717 to 1737 a Maritime Hospital was located here to quarantine patients during health epidemics.
• At one time there were two Inns for tourists to stay
• During the 1850’s the Ward Rendering Factory was opened here. It is where dead horses and cattle were once used to make glue, fertilizer, horse hair to fill pillows and Foot Oil.
• In 1903 the City of Boston ran a garbage processing facility on the island.
• In 1988 the island was a large landfill and much garbage was once brought here.
• In 1992 the island’s rebirth began as part of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project also known as “Big Dig”. Over the decade, clay and sediment excavated from the project and brought to Spectacle creating the island you see today.

I really enjoyed exploring Spectacle Island and would highly recommend it to all for it is a very wheelchair accessible and friendly island to visit.

I give Spectacle Island FIVE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. I do recommend they place a raised lip on the wharf where the railings are not located.