Historic structures are more than architectural relics, they are vessels of memory, culture, and identity.
Creating accessibility and a sense of inclusiveness for people of all backgrounds and abilities at these sites is a crucial responsibility for those who plan and implement the visitor experience. Ensuring that the interpretation of a site resonates with diverse audiences demands a commitment to rethinking access in the broadest sense—including physical, emotional, and intellectual access—and a willingness to challenge the traditional approach. One of the greatest challenges in historic preservation is balancing the integrity of a structure with modern accessibility needs. Providing full access while preserving a site’s integrity often requires a creative, rather than formulaic, approach.
Click to jump to the Arlington House or Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
Rethink “Access”
Viewing the concept of “access” holistically means thinking far beyond its traditional definition of physically entering and traveling through the site and the buildings. Providing ramps, elevators, and smooth pathways to create a barrier-free environment is the most obvious strategy that enables everyone to comfortably visit historic structures and spaces that typically have steps and other barriers to persons with mobility disabilities, but that’s just one aspect of accessibility. Complete physical accessibility can also mean adding tactile exhibits, Braille signage, or virtual, narrated experiences that can bring a story to life for those persons with sensory disabilities.
Re-interpreting a historical site to ensure full access can also mean re-thinking what destinations the defined visitor path includes or re-locating modern occupancies to reveal the original use of a structure or space. Rather than exclusively focusing on the main building or solely on its historically public spaces, visitors should also understand and appreciate the role of support rooms, ancillary structures, landscapes, or even archeological sites which can expose previously untold stories. The historic role of a gatehouse, common on large estates, was to keep unwelcome visitors out, but today they are often repurposed as ticket-taking points. Some still perceive these points on the visitor entry route as a forbidding obstacle. By reconsidering the visitor entry path from a modern perspective, we can approach its design with a mindset of communicating a welcoming and inclusive message.


Explain the Complete Story
Visitors today value the ability to fully access, engage with, and make emotional connections to all of the stories a site has to tell, including those of all of the historical figures whose lives were intertwined with the physical structures. Historically, many sites have focused narrowly on the lives of elite figures or majority cultural groups. Creating inclusivity and emotional accessibility mandates broadening the narrative to include underrepresented or marginalized perspectives rather than limiting interpretation to the traditionally dominant narrative, thus enriching the experience for all visitors. For example, representing details about the lives of indigenous and enslaved people along with those of the already-recognized historical figures offers a more honest and complete understanding of the site’s history.
ARLINGTON HOUSE, THE ROBERT E. LEE MEMORIAL
Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee, in Arlington National Cemetery, hosts nearly 600,000 visitors annually. In 2015, the facility was in dire need of total rehabilitation on many fronts, including the need to provide barrier-free access to the entire estate, including its site, landscape, buildings, and interpretation.
A primary goal of the project was revealing previously untold stories. In modern times, the north “dependency” —a support structure attached to the main mansion—had been converted from its historic purpose as a dwelling for enslaved people to a retail store, with no representation of the story of its original occupants. In a radical rearrangement, the retail shop was removed and the structure was restored and reinterpreted to illustrate a piece of its former occupants’ daily life. New exhibits throughout the main house and dependencies reinterpreted other adjacent structures and completed the new, more comprehensive narrative.
Perhaps the most striking feature of Arlington House is its sweeping view of Washington, DC, but enjoyment of that experience was previously inhibited by scattered benches, queuing stanchions, and a non-historic vestibule serving as the main entry point for guided tours. Completely reversing the visitor flow through the estate, the design team adapted a serene greenhouse space at the rear of the building to become the new visitor entry. Removal of the non-historic vestibule now enables the incredible, uninterrupted view of Washington to conclude the visitor path and returns the portico to a place of contemplation and grandeur. New, unobtrusive and reversable adaptations of the historic fabric create a barrier-free path throughout.





Include More Voices
To make historic sites truly inclusive, it’s essential to involve the public in determining what stories and areas of interest should become a focus of the site’s interpretation. Involving a broad range of stakeholders, such as historians, longstanding community residents and leaders, and descendants of all of those connected to the site, not just the historically-recognized landowners, uncovers unique viewpoints. Equally important is engaging persons with physical disabilities, whose valuable insights from their lived experiences can inform practical and innovative solutions. Aiming to exceed minimum accessibility requirements, which provide basic functionality but rarely address the experiential aspects of visiting a historic site, facilitates achieving a transformative visitor experience.
Until 2023, the path to reach the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on the national mall in Washington DC, for anyone who preferred not to ascend its many historic steps, required traveling all the way around the entire memorial to a ramp on the south side, then back toward the Tidal Basin, a distance of more than 1,000 feet. The project’s monumental goal was to improve barrier-free access for all of the memorial’s three million annual visitors while preserving the integrity of the historic architecture and landscape.
Collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with disabilities, determined what improvements would have the most value in achieving universal access both physically and programmatically. Today, two new sloped walkways east and west of the front steps significantly shorten the accessible route from the front of the memorial to the chamber level, which houses the monumental statue of Jefferson. These new, welcoming paths inclusively invite all to engage with the historic cultural landscape and stunning viewsheds over the Tidal Basin, with minimal visual impact to the historic site.
Inside, a full renovation of the memorial’s lower level will enhance and enrich the visitor experience with improved circulation, an expanded retail shop, and improved visitor support spaces. New and expanded barrier-free, fully accessible exhibits within the lower level will provide additional perspectives on Thomas Jefferson’s multi-faceted story. New exhibits at the chamber level adjacent to the statue of Jefferson explain information about the history of the memorial itself.


Redefine the Standard
By involving the public and prioritizing inclusivity, we can make historic sites accessible in ways that honor their past while respecting the interests and requirements of today’s diverse visitors.
Ultimately, historic structures can be spaces where everyone can contextualize modern life by engaging with history on physical, emotional, and intellectual levels. By reimagining access and telling fuller, more inclusive stories, we can ensure that these sites remain relevant and accessible for generations to come.