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Making Historic Properties Accessible

Jeffrey Havelin, P.E.


Course Outline

The purpose of this (One-Hour) course is to provide the architect or engineer with a fundamental understanding and the technical knowledge associated with making historic properties accessible..

Historically, most buildings and landscapes were not designed to be readily accessible for people with disabilities. In recent years, however, emphasis has been placed on preserving historically significant properties, and on making these properties and the activities within them more accessible to people with disabilities. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, access to properties open to the public is now a civil right.

This course is based entirely on the web version of the National Park Service Preservation Brief 32 which is entitled “Making Historic Properties Accessible” as published by the National Park Service- U.S. Department of the Interior.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.


Learning Objective

This course will specifically review and provide an understanding of the methods, procedures, and benefits of Making Historic Properties Accessible:


Intended Audience

This course would be very informative for Architects or Professional Engineers that are involved with historic buildings and structures or accessibility projects.


Benefit to the Attendees

This course recommends measures that will be more accessible to people with disabilities with the least alteration to the historic buildings, while using materials that do not cause damage and that represent sound economic investments.


Course Introduction

The primary focus of this course has been to describe ways of providing accessibility at historic properties, and the need to balance accessibility and historic preservation. It provides guidance on making historic properties accessible while preserving their historic character; this course also provides examples to show that independent physical accessibility at historic properties can be achieved with careful planning, consultation, and sensitive design.

Modifications to historic properties to increase accessibility may be as simple as a small, inexpensive ramp to overcome one entrance step, or may involve changes to exterior and interior features.


Course Content

This course is based entirely on the web version of the National Park Service Preservation Brief 32 which is entitled “Making Historic Properties Accessible” as published by the National Park Service- U.S. Department of the Interior.

The link to the course materials is as follows:

Making Historic Properties Accessible

(http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief32.htm)

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.


Course Summary

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, access to historic properties open to the public is a now civil right, and owners of historic properties must evaluate existing buildings and determine how they can be made more accessible.

The primary role of the consultant is to ensure the life of the building, therefore a knowledge of historic construction techniques and the special problems found in older buildings is essential. The consultant must assist the owner in planning for logistical problems relating to research and construction. It is the consultant's responsibility to determine the best ways to make historic properties accessible.


Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.