Huntington Library Accessibility

Last weekend, I visited the Huntington Library, which consists of a museum and botanical garden, with my partner. This week, I want to review the Huntington Library, Museum, and Botanical garden for accessibility.

---

The Gardens:

I was most excited about the botanical gardens. There were multiple different habitats to explore, including the Chinese gardens, Japanese gardens, lily pad pond, jungle, Australian habitat, subtropical garden, and the desert habitat. The whole property is on a giant hill, so using a wheelchair is not super accessible. Wheelchairs can be loaned based on availability, but there is no way I could have used a wheelchair by myself. Even if I had someone helping me, the hills are steep and many of the paths are dirt. There is a shuttle that can pick people up, which is very helpful, but it only runs every half an hour. Once you get to each habitat, there are plenty of benches to sit on to rest and enjoy the plants. There is not enough plants to be in each habitat for half an hour, so this would not replace a wheelchair for ambulatory wheelchair users.

The museum buildings are also dispersed throughout the gardens, so there is no way to avoid the gardens if the accessibility is not ideal. There are places in the gardens where guests can use auditory devices through the museum to learn more about the plants, which can also serve as a great accessibility feature if done effectively. There are bathrooms spread out throughout the garden, and there seems to be at least one bathroom in each space that can fit a wheelchair. The bathrooms do have bars near the toilet for people in wheelchairs, but I cannot say if the bars are placed effectively for use. Through some research, I saw that there is a social guide for visitors with autism. This is amazing, as I relied on social stories for years to handle new environments. Assisted listening devices, sign language, and live captioning can be requested for both the gardens and the museums, but a 10 day notice is needed. I understand that providing these services requires effort and coordination, but not being able to make a last minute trip like I was able to do because of a disability is a huge bummer. It is harder for me to travel and make plans because I need to do research into accessibility to make sure I can actually attend the event. It would be cool if deaf visitors could go up to the front desk and be assured their accommodations. Service animals are welcome, but emotional support animals are not. I think that is fair, because there is a huge difference between an animal used for comfort, and an animal trained to do a specific task to help create accessibility. Both are valid and important, but there is an accessibility difference. Lastly, while this is not necessarily a disability feature, the use of multiple different languages on the signs creates accessibility for visitors of the gardens.

Overall, I give the garden accessibility a 3.5 out of 5. I can see the thought for disabled people in terms of the bathroom accessibility, shuttle service, and very clear signage. However, I wish there was an ability to use other tools like the golf carts I saw driving around for guests who cannot hike but still like plants. I got around, but I needed at least one full day of rest to recover from my trip. if there were more accessibility features like more frequent shuttles, I think that could have improved my visit.

---

The Museums:

I actually thought the museums were more accessible. Also, I am sorry that I forgot to take pictures inside of the museum of myself, I am slightly biased towards being more excited about the gardens so I took pictures outside. But please enjoy these pictures of some of the art work, including the original painting that is used in the confused meme. There are two main museum buildings that hold artwork: The European exhibit and the Early America (USA) exhibit. I am going to talk about them as a whole, because they were largely set up the same.

First, the museum had elevators for the first and second floor In addition to the stairs. I never thought I would have to be thankful to have an elevator instead of a wheelchair lift, but accessibility can be shocking at times. One of my favorite accessibility features was that there were seating places in the middle of the rooms with artwork. While sitting down, you can turn and see all of the paintings. For the pieces where I did not want to spend too much time reading the information about each piece, I was able to rest my feet. I struggle with walking long distances because the muscles on the bottom of my feet get a feeling similar to raw skin. Having a place to rest inside the museum while also being able to still participate in looking at the art felt very accessible.

As said before, the museum buildings can only be entered by walking through the gardens. The shuttle spots are also based on garden locations, not museum locations, so the museums are only accessible to those that can access the gardens. Overall, I give the museum accessibility a 4 out of 5. The thought to include seating inside of the galleries in addition to the elevators made it feel very mobility aid and weak legs friendly. My only complaint for the museum building was the limited entry and exit points because it was obvious that more options were available to be used.

My final accessibility rating for the Huntington museum is a 4 out of 5. The parking had lots of disability placard options, the museum had multiple places to sit while still being able to see the art, and the shuttle bus allowed for people to still see the gardens without walking up and downhill. My biggest complaint is that the property, based on the large hill the gardens were on, did not seem very wheelchair friendly. I didn’t see anywhere to be able to rent a wheelchair even though the website said it was available, and I still do not see how one could even get around in a wheelchair. On days where I can’t walk, I still like plants and pretty paintings. I hope that additional services can include those in a wheelchair so that everyone can experience all that the Huntington Library has to offer. I also hope that guests who need auditory accommodations can have an easier time accessing them than what is currently available.

---

Thank you for reading about accessibility at the Huntington Library! If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment under the questions tab on this website, or leave a comment at @Anniekrollblog on Instagram or Facebook. I hope to see you next week!