Address
300 West Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901
Phone Number
(631) 727 - 2881
Date Visited
03/21/2019
Website
Suffolk County Historical Society
Description
The Suffolk County Historical Society is located at 300 West Main Street, Riverhead, NY. A tiny parking lot has one handicapped space. More parking can be found on the street, or in one of the nearby lots. Concrete and stone lead to the street-level, double door entrance. The main level has the admission desk, "book store," and a single-occupancy, handicapped-accessible restroom.An elevator goes to all three floors. There are also staircases with ten steps up or down. There are seven galleries, some of which have wood floors, some have flat carpet. Several of the galleries have a small "lip" at their threshold. The upper floor has a large, single-occupancy, handicapped-accessible restroom. There is seating throughout the building.
A very small, non-handicapped accessible restroom, is located on the lower level. Two steps are required to reach the entrance. There are no food services.
- Surface of lot: paved
Distance to venue: short walk around to entrance
Transportation to venue offered: no
Terrain: flat
Paths and walkways: concrete and stone walkway
Doors: street-level, double doors
Number of floors: 3
Elevators: to all floors
Ramps: no ramps, but small "lips" at entrances to several galleries
Steps and staircases: ten steps to upper level, ten steps to lower level
Width of aisles: most areas are spacious
Places to sit: benches throughout
Location of restrooms: large, handicapped-accessible, single-occupancy restrooms on main and upper levels. lower level restroom is small, not handicapped accessible, and requires two steps to enter
Type of restroom: all are single-occupancy, first and second floor are handicapped-accessible, lower level is not
Ease of entry and exit: OK
Baby changing station: no
Available food services: none
Friendliness of staff: very friendly and helpful
The Suffolk County Historical Society has been in existence since 1886, with its original buildilng dating from 1930. The now 16,000 square foot buildilng houses more than 20,000 artifacts illustrating the history of Suffolk County and Long Island. Its seven galleries have both permanent and changing exhibits, a history museum, library and archives, and offers educational programs and events.
Until today, this wonderful venue had not been accessible to many of the 285,000 people of Suffolk county with disabilities. Now, with a new wing entrance that doesn’t require going up or down steps, an elevator to all levels, two large, beautiful, single-occupancy, handicapped-accessible restrooms, they are ready to welcome all.
I was fortunate to be invited to their ribbon-cutting. This was my first visit to this unique venue that houses more than three centuries of history.
There is only one handicapped parking space in the tiny parking lot. More parking is available on the street and at several lots close by. It may be best to drop passengers off before parking.
Street-level, double doors took me into the lobby, where there is an admissions desk and “bookstore.” From here one can elevate up or down or use the ten steps in either direction to get to the galleries. Some of the galleries have wooden floors, others have flat carpet. Several of the galleries have a small “lip” at their threshold.
There are exhibits on firearms, transportation, and crafts, to name a few. Although I did not notice any seating in the galleries, I have since been told that they have added seating throughout the building.
The two, new, large, single-occupancy, handicapped-accessible restrooms are located on the entrance level and upper level. One other, small, non-handicapped accessible restroom is located on the lower level. It requires two steps to get to it.
The Suffolk County Historical Society is a must for anyone interested in Suffolk County and Long Island history. It is great that it is now available to all.
As always, we at Destination Accessible, advise you to check a venue’s website, www.suffolkcountyhistoricalsociety.org, when planning a visit, to know before you go,
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