An accessible travellers’ mini guide to Chicago

Chicago’s range of accessible attractions is rich and constantly growing. Transport, activities, buildings, museums and parks all take the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) seriously and this is a city that is becoming more and more welcoming for accessible travel by the day. We’ve sampled a number of experiences you can expect in our accessible travellers’ guide to the Windy City.

Getting around Chicago

An impressive 70% of the public transit network is set up for wheelchair, sight and hearing-impaired people. All the buses that serve the city and its suburbs are accessible, and a few are free to disabled people. The trains on the L (the rapid transit loop serving Chicago City and some of its suburbs) have at least one accessible carriage, and 104 of its 146 well-staffed stations are wheelchair accessible. If you are unable to drive around the city yourself, wheelchair accessible cabs, and a dial-a-ride transportation service are available, while the security team at Chicago O’Hare International Airport has a comprehensive range of support.

Booking transport tickets online sometimes offer a ‘wheelchair’ option, but staff are well trained and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower system is gaining acceptance. So, if you have a service animal or need a quiet room en route, staff will be able to help.

Accessible attractions

Chicago has many attractions for travellers with extra requirements, with ample measures in place to make sure they have the same experience as everyone else. If you’re after epic city panoramas, then there are plenty of places in Chicago for you to get that. The 360 CHICAGO observation deck, its Cloud Bar and The Skydeck on the 103^rd floor of the Willis Tower, all welcome service animals, scooters and wheelchairs. All staff are fully trained, and sensory bypasses are available. If you prefer to be closer to the ground, the Art Institute of Chicago has a range of programmes specifically designed for adults and children with disabilities. Support animal access, manual wheelchair loans, interpreters or other needs should be booked at least two weeks in advance.

Chicago’s Millennium Park, home to the iconic public art installation The Bean, holds hundreds of free cultural programmes including concerts, exhibitions, tours and family activities within an architecturally stunning venue. It is ADA compliant, purpose-built from scratch with trained guards able to assist with directions, assistive listening and wheelchair loans. Open film captioning assistive listening devices and sign language are also available.

Other accessible-friendly attractions in Chicago include Navy Pier, Pullman National Historical Park and Garfield Park Conservatory. River and themed bus tours can also accommodate travellers with extra needs, with initiatives like low-floor designs, automated voice announcements and more. For something out of the ordinary, try an urban art workshop like like a spray paint ‘n’ sip experience at Studio W.I.P, which is wheelchair accessible.

Accessible museums

Chicago’s cultural institutions take great pride in across-the-board accessibility. A legacy from when Chicago played host to the World’s Fair in 1893, the Field Museum (home of the world’s largest T. rex and the only full Spinosaurus skeleton) has a range of accessible options including fossils to touch, sensory, auditory and tactile bags, quiet rooms, exhibits and different bookable tours for those with sight, auditory and various cognitive disabilities. Many of Chicago’s museums serve as welcoming spaces for visitors with additional needs, like the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, which can provide sighted guides and a number of other sensory-friendly features, or the Museum of Contemporary Art, which supplies sensory kits you can borrow and has large-print guides, EnChroma glasses and more.

Laurent House in Rockford is a great place for those who prefer fewer crowds or quieter spaces. It’s the only building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for a disabled person and one of the best preserved Wright homes around. Access is only by booked private and public tours. Elsewhere, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago History Museum, Museum of Science and Chicago Children’s Museums are all ADA compliant. As with many other places they have wheelchairs available on a first-come-first-served basis and while they serve a huge range of needs, it’s best to enquire and book in advance.

Book a show at Chicago’s accessible theatres

The League of Chicago Theatres is working with theatres throughout the area to make live theatre accessible to everyone. Their calendar enables people with disabilities to look for and book performances based on their specific access requirements. The calendar includes touch tours, ASL-interpreted, audio-described, open-captioned, family friendly and autism-friendly options. Chicago Children’s Theatre has performances dedicated to (and created for) children on the spectrum including ASL-interpreted musicals. The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre has enhanced performances for each item on their programme, while A.B.L.E is a group of performers with development disabilities.

Many theatres are accessible in their own ways: the Apollo Theatre has just eleven rows of seats; the Steppenwolf Theatre is good at sensory friendly performances, the Goodman Theatre provides great touch tours, while the Gift Theatre (currently performing at the Filament Theatre) has a very user friendly website and habitually uses open captions and audio descriptions in its work. All Chicago’s theatres must be ADA compliant, but it’s worth bearing in mind that smaller organisations – particularly theatres – might not be completely accessible or have interpreters available all the time.