Blind / Low Vision

General Information

• There are no films in the home.
• There are no braille or large text publications of the home.
• Occasionally, rangers will play audio clips from their mobile devices on the tour to enhance visitor’s education.
• Please visit Photos and Multimedia for audio videos that explore Mary McLeod Bethune’s legacy.

 

Fall foliage on Washington, D.C.'s Vermont Ave.

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Path from parking to entrance

• From parking on Vermont Ave., visitors must navigate over the street curb to find the sidewalk. The brick surface of the sidewalk can cause uneven cracking in some places. Once visitors have arrived at the park’s signage embedded in the middle of the sidewalk, they have arrived at the home. From the sign, it’s about 20 feet to the entrance door.

• Approaching the entrance door, the brick sidewalk changes to concrete. There are 10 stairs to ascend before reaching the home’s entrance door. Stairs may have cracks or be uneven in areas.

 

The entryway of the home

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Access to inside

To enter the home, there are two sets of double doors. The first set of doors has circular doorknobs that visitors must turn to the right and pull open. Once visitors have entered through the first set of doors, they will arrive in a small hallway between each set of doors. Visitors can press the call button on the left or knock on one of the doors in front of them. This signals a ranger to open the second set of doors. Each set of double doors have thresholds that may be challenging to navigate over. Once visitors are ready to leave the home, they must exit through the same set of doors, which require a push to open.

 

The home's foyer located on the first floor

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

First Floor

• As visitors enter the home, they will encounter a passport stamp station and a shelf of park brochures to the left. The surface of the first floor is hard wood with a thin, low-pile carpet covering certain sections of the floor. Just ahead is a staircase leading to the second floor. Next to the staircase is a hallway that leads to the dining room, bookstore, and courtyard. Left of the hallway sits the open doorway leading to the parlor which has a threshold. Once visitors have entered the parlor, they will encounter items such as a menorah, flags, posters, and more. Visitors are not permitted to touch any items within the parlor. There are six chairs in the parlor room for visitors to sit, three on the left side of the doorway and three on the right side.

 

The home's dining room located on the first floor

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

• From the parlor, visitors can enter the dining room through the open doorway that has a threshold. There are eight wood chairs on the left side of the dining room for visitors to sit. There is a large dining table with chairs and signage surrounding the table. Visitors are not permitted to touch any items in the dining room.

 

The home's bookstore located on the first floor

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

• Behind the dining room and to the left is the bookstore, which has items for sale. The open doorway to the bookstore has a small threshold. There is not much room to navigate around in the bookstore.

 

The open courtyard in the back of the home

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

• Behind the dining room and to the right is the courtyard, which is not typically open to the public. If a ranger permits you to enter the courtyard, you will open the door and take five steps down, accompanied by a handrail on the left side. You must walk a few steps to reach the second door to the outside which has a tall threshold. Once outside, there is one more step down to enter the courtyard. The surface of the courtyard is brick and concrete. There may be weeds growing through cracks in the brick. There is a table surrounded by chairs to the left.

• Visitors must exit the courtyard the way they entered. The path through the dining room leads to the hall, which leads to the base of the staircase to the second floor.

 

The President's office on the second floor

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Second Floor

The second floor is entirely carpeted. There are 23 stairs that visitors must ascend to reach the second floor. Visitors are not permitted to touch anything in the rooms on the second floor except for the interactive activities. Each room has furniture to imitate the time period. In the bedroom and the President’s office, the furniture is guarded by stanchions. Once visitors reach the top of the staircase, straight ahead is the bedroom and to its left is the bathroom. Further down the hall are the President and Secretary offices. The Secretary’s office has an interactive activity and cases with artifacts. The doors to each room stay open.

 

The bathroom on the second floor

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Restroom

There is a single use restroom on the second floor. The doorway entrance has a tall threshold. Visitors must twist the circular knob and push the door open. The light switch is on the outside of the door to the right. The floor surface is granite that can be uneven and crack in places. A non-functioning bath sits to the right, a sink sits further back to the right, and the toilet is on the left.

 

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