Walt Whitman Birthplace

Description

Checklist

Surface of lot:  paved, but uneven
Distance to venue:  close
Transportation to venue offered:  no
Terrain:  flat
Places to rest:  no
Paths and walkways:  concrete walkways
Doors:  street-level, double doors
Number of floors:  one
Elevators:  none
Ramps:  none
Steps and staircases:  13 steps to second floor in birthplace house
Width of aisles:  the visitors' center is spacious
Places to sit:  plenty of seating in visitors' center
Location of restrooms:  to the right of the store in the visitors' center
Type of restroom:  multi-stall, with large, handicapped-accessible, and baby-changing station
Ease of entry and exit:  ok
Baby changing station:  yes
Available food services:  none
Friendliness of staff:  extremely friendly and knowledgeable

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I have probably passed the sign for the Walt Whitman Birthplace hundreds of times. I can only remember being there once before, many years ago. I found it interesting that, when I finally decided to visit, it turned out to be just one week before the  Bicentennial Birthday Weekend Celebration of Walt Whitman. Born May 31, 1819, Whitman is a famous person in America’s history, a poet whom, I discovered, was a very forward thinking man. If you have never been here, you should take some time to visit. 

It is easy to get to, park in the small, paved lot (with one handicapped space), easy to walk the concrete walkway to the street-level, double-door entrance and into the welcome area of this one story building.

This multi-function building serves several purposes. There is a lot of information about Whitman, which serves as the self-guided portion of the tour. There is a performance space, lots of seating, and a well-stocked store. Flat carpet on the floor is easy to navigate. The multi-stall restrooms have a large, handicapped stall and baby-changing staton.

If you are interested, you can continue with a docent-led tour. Iris was the docent who led my tour. She was a wealth of information. There seemed to be nothing she did not know about Whitman, and her presentation was wonderful. She took us through double doors in the rear of this building to a large, courtyward area and on to the house itself. One can only visit the house with a docent. There are three steps up to the porch. There is also a ramp at the rear of the house for those that cannot manage the steps. The first floor is fully accessible, if a bit small. The only way to visit the second floor is up thirteen steps. If you are unable to manage this, there is an album available showing all of the things on the second floor.

Many activities are planned for the birthay celebration. Note that there are other activities and events throughout the year .

As always, we at Destination Accessible advise you to visit a venue’s website, www.waltwhitman.org, when planning a visit, to “know before you go.” and have the best experience possible.

Location

Nearby