Accessibility

Historic Northampton is committed to accessibility and inclusion for all guests. If you have any further accessibility questions, concerns, or would like to provide feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Phone: ​(413) 584-6011 (cannot accept text messages)
Email: info@historicnorthampton.org

Photograph showing a the street, driveway entrance, and driveway between two historic buildings, one white and one beige. In the background is a white gazebo and several trees.
Entrance to the Historic Northampton parking lot, between 58 and 66 Bridge Street.
Photograph of a driveway, small parking area, and partial view of Parsons House, a white building. There are large trees and a white gazebo in the background. Text and arrows overlay the photograph reading, "Accessible parking space," and, "More parking."
Accessible parking space adjacent to Parsons House, and driveway to main parking lot, Historic Northampton, 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass.

Parking

The parking lot for Historic Northampton is entered through a driveway alongside Shepherd House at 58 Bridge Street. One in the driveway, there will be an accessible parking space almost immediately on the left, outside of the Parsons House. Continuing to the end of the driveway, you will reach the parking lot, adjacent to the Shepherd Barn. There are no accessible parking spaces within the main lot.

The path from the parking lot to the museum entrance inside Damon House is an brick pathway, approximately 200 feet long. The bricks are uneven in some spots.

Additionally, there are metered public parking spaces on Bridge Street, in front of Damon House, including one non-metered accessible parking spot. The Bridge Street accessible parking spot is closer to the museum entrance than the Historic Northampton parking lot accessible spot. 

For some large events, we may ask patrons to park at Bridge Street School and save Historic Northampton’s parking lot for those who would benefit from closer parking.

Photograph of a yellow building with dark green shutters, cream-colored trim, and a glass door under a portico with a triangular pediment. There is a red brick sloped pathway leading to the door and cream-colored fence to the left side of the railing, with a small sparrow perched on the fence. There are bushes with pink and yellow flowers on either side of the pathway.
Main entrance to Damon House and Historic Northampton’s exhibit and research space, located on the side of 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass.

Mobility and Wheelchair Access to Damon House

The main entrance to Damon House, our main exhibit space, is located on the right side of the building, when facing it from Bridge Street. From the Bridge Street sidewalk, enter through the opening in the fence and take a brick path, which becomes an inclined walkway to the entrance. There is fencing to the side of the walkway that can be used as support, but not a proper handrail. In one spot, the walkway has a 6% slope. If you need assistance with this, please do not hesitate to call us. The brick path has some uneven spots, but there are no steps.

The main entrance door has a push-to-open button and automatic door opener. The doorway is approximately 33 inches wide. There is a 1.75 inch high threshold, which is ramped. 

Photograph of a well-lit, small exhibit space with a gray rug and white and cream walls. Exhibit cases are built into the walls and show different scenes of enslaved people laboring in 18th century Northampton Scattered around the room are cardboard cutouts of silhouettes of people, the silhouettes are black and have white text on them, saying the name of the person it is representing and some information about them (None are readable in this image). In the center of the exhibit space is a tall and thin board, only a few feet below the ceiling. The board reads: "SLAVERY AND FREEDOM IN NORTHAMPTON" with the names of some of the enslaved people who lived in Northampton, along with some text that is unreadable in the image.
Historic Northampton exhibit space, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass. Photograph shows a glimpse of our current exhibit Slavery and Freedom in Northampton.

Exhibit Accessibility

The exhibit room has three chairs with arms, as well as several stools. The chairs are lightly cushioned and 20 inches wide between the arms. More seating is available if needed. You are welcome to move seating around the space. There is a wheelchair accessible route throughout the exhibit gallery.

Wall text is high-contrast, in a serif font. Staff members are available to give visual descriptions and read text aloud when requested.

There is one single-occupancy, ADA-compliant restroom across from the entrance. It also has a baby changing table.

A white, multi-level wooden barn with attached extensions sit under a cloudy sky with a bright rainbow arching over the roofline.
The Shepherd Barn, located behind Shepherd House. Accessed by car via entrance to the left of Shepherd House. Behind Shepherd Barn is our parking lot.

Mobility and Wheelchair Access to the Shepherd Barn

The Shepherd Barn is physically accessible. It is a short path from both the accessible parking area and the parking lot to the barn, over asphalt and a brick patio. Doors to the Shepherd Barn are barn-sized and will accommodate any mobility device. They will be open for the beginning of most events. Otherwise, the additional doors are 33 and 34 inches wide.

The historic floor and brick paths may be slightly bumpy in spots, but are wheelchair accessible. There are plenty of lightly cushioned chairs with 20 inches between the arms in the barn during regular programming. During plays and other large programs, the chairs are lightly cushioned, armless, and 16.5 inches wide. Chairs with arms are available if needed.

The Shepherd Barn has two gender-neutral bathrooms with baby changing tables. The bathroom doors have a hook and eye latch. The bathrooms are otherwise ADA-compliant.

Map of Historic Northampton Grounds–click to enlarge

Grounds

The grounds of Historic Northampton are open to the public and include brick pathways, lawn space, garden space, a gazebo, and a patio.

The brick pathways are wheelchair accessible, but there are some uneven spots. Unfortunately, the stone patio and gazebo are not currently wheelchair accessible.

Photograph of a group of people walking past an 18th century house with white siding and a red brick chimney with a white picket fence out front. The crowd is being led by a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing a jean jacket, green pants, black boots, and a white top. She is holding a white binder and smiling at the camera.
Historic Northampton walking tour, passing by Parsons House, led by Elizabeth Sacktor.

Programs and Walking Tour Accessibility

Most of our walking tours follow wheelchair-accessible public sidewalks and paths, but may encounter uneven ground. The Bridge Street Cemetery tour, however, covers uneven grassy ground in an 18th-century cemetery, and will present mobility challenges for some guests.

ASL interpretation is available upon request. Please contact us two weeks in advance at info@historicnorthampton.org.

Virtual Programming Accessibility

Our online programs are hosted over Zoom. Auto-generated closed captioning is available and can be accessed through the toolbar. More information about Zoom’s caption feature can be found here.