Address
222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, NY
Phone Number
(718) 631-6311 - box office
Date Visited
11/15/2015
Website
Queensborough Performing Arts Center
Description
The Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC) is located at 222-05 56th Avenue, Bayside, NY.The large, paved parking lot has many handicapped spaces.
Depending on where you park it may be a bit of a walk to the courtyard and slight incline to the building entrance.
The door on the far left has a handicapped-assist push button (not working on the day we were there).
The box office is in the outer lobby. From this outer lobby one can find handicapped-accessible restrooms by going through either the doors to the right (men) or left (ladies). Follow the ramp and find the restroom just ahead. Although there is no indication that they are handicapped-accessible, they are.
The large inner lobby leads to all seating. With the exception of the back of the orchestra, steps are required to get to all other seats. Walk down the ramp, find three steps, walk further, find three more steps. Do this two more times if you are seated in the front orchestra (a total of 12 steps). If you continue to the end of the ramp you will find a ladies' room in the left corridor and a men's room in the right corridor. Both have handicapped-accessible stalls.
Mezzanine seating requires walking a full set of stairs. There are no elevators. Once at this level, steps are also required to get to most seats. There are no handrails.
All seats have great views.
Snacks were being sold in the lobby.
- Surface of lot: paved
Distance to venue: a bit of a walk
Transportation to venue offered: no
Terrain: flat
Places to rest: nches in courtyard in front of theater entrance
Paths and walkways: concrete
Doors: several sets of double doors
Number of floors: 2
Elevators: none
Ramps: to handicapped-accessible restrooms
Steps and staircases: to all seating
Width of aisles: wide
Places to sit: roomy seats
Location of restrooms: **
Type of restroom: multi-stall, handicapped-accessisble
Ease of entry and exit: OK
Baby changing station: no
Available food services: snacks were being sold in lobby
Friendliness of staff: pleasant
Notes: *There are many handicapped spaces in the large lot.** See "Description" section for details of restrooms.
Once again, a chance look at some theater listings brought us to an amazing performance at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC).
The Doo Wop Project is a group of five guys, all of whom have connections to the show “Jersey Boys.” One of them is currently in the show on Broadway. They, along with five talented musicians, have brought the Doo Wop sound into the 21st century. Two solid hours of wonderful songs that many of us fondly remembered from our youth, plus several songs of today that the group has “doo-wopified,” made for an afternoon to remember.
We had never been to this lovely campus before. Plenty of free parking, with lots of handicapped spaces in the large paved lot, made for an easy arrival. It was a bit of a walk to the stone courtyard and entrance to the theater. Since it was a lovely day, many people were sitting on the benches in the courtyard before going in to the performance.
The door on the far left has a push-button assist; however, it was not in operation. The outer entrance area houses the ticket window. Once inside these doors we found the large lobby area that leads to the theater itself. The theater is large, but except for the back row, one must negotiate steps to get to all other seating. You walk along an incline, expecting it to continue; suddenly you encounter three steps; you continue walking and encounter three more steps. This continues two more times in order to get to the front of the orchestra section (a total of 12 steps). These corridors are on both the right and left sides of the auditorium. If you follow the right side to the end you will find the men’s room Go to the left side and you will find the ladies’ room. Each of these restrooms has a handicapped stall.
We were seated in the mezzanine, requiring a full flight of stairs to get there (no elevators). Then more steps to get to your row. There are no handrails.
Our seats were great; there doesn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house!
If you need a handicapped-accessible restroom and can’t do the stairs, they are located at the far right (men), or far left (ladies) of the outer lobby area. Once you enter either of these areas, just follow the ramp (which seems to be a bit narrow, but will accommodate a wheelchair) to the end and you will see the restroom just ahead. Although they do not have handicapped signs on them, they are.
Snacks were being sold in the lobby.
If you have special needs, we would recommend calling the box office to discuss your needs when purchasing tickets (718) 631-6311.
As always, we at Destination Accessible, advise you to check a venue’s website, www.visitqpac.org when planning a visit, to “know before you go.”
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