Over the past five years, the Historic House Trust of New York City has partnered with experts, colleagues, students, and community groups to plan and implement innovative pilot projects to improve access for people with disabilities to New York City’s historic houses. 

The Historic House Trust of New York City (HHT) is thrilled to announce the completion of its Accessibility & Innovation Initiative - an expansive and deeply impactful effort to identify and implement pilot projects at historic house museum citywide to improve accessibility, inspire meaningful change, and increase awareness and available tools for creating more welcoming cultural institutions. With multi-year funding from The New York Community Trust, and support from a diverse group of organizations, the initiative resulted in new programming and a wealth of resources that can be used to continue, replicate and inform accessibility projects not only at museums, but at any site that aspires to promote inclusion and engagement. 

The impact of the Accessibility & Innovation Initiative has been significant, and has positioned HHT and its 23 partner historic sites at the forefront of important conversation about accessibility across the nation. “Our partners feel more empowered than ever to make real changes that improve the experiences of visitors with disabilities, and to grow their supporters to include more diverse constituents with a vested interest in saving NYC’s historic houses” said HHT Acting Director Giulietta Fiore. “This important grant strengthened our ability to meet specific needs, impact large audiences, and make significant, long lasting enhancements that promote culture and community. This opportunity has also energized us to explore what other important issues we can address through a similar program model.”

Before embarking on pilot project implementation, HHT worked with the United Spinal Association and Sway B Access to complete a thorough Audit and Discovery process for each of its 23 partner historic sites. Following those critical steps, HHT worked with interested museum partners to plan and complete pilot accessibility projects. Three of these projects involved an exciting collaboration with SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies whose students helped not only develop the projects, but also created a framework to develop similar projects at other sites in the future. Projects completed through this effort include:

• Multi-sensory tour and tactile photographs at the Alice Austen House (SI);
• Interactive virtual tour of the Dyckman Farmhouse and Hessian Hut (MN);
• "Life During the American Revolution" tactile tour at the Morris-Jumel Mansion (MN);
• Visitor’s guide tactile map to Historic Richmond Town (SI);
• Four language translations of the virtual tour at the Van Cortlandt House Museum (BX);
• Micro-Grant Program for ASL Interpretation Services (citywide);
• "Welcoming to All" resource guide for museum partners (citywide);
• Matching funds for a reconstructed entrance ramp at the Lewis Latimer House (QN).

Related projects also emerged from this initiative, born out of collaborative conversations about removing barriers and supporting inclusion at historic houses. For example, thanks to support from Dutch Culture USA’s Future 400 Initiative, HHT hosted the Building Brooklyn: Dutch-American Historic House Shuttle Tour in Fall 2024. This successful event included an audio tour on Bloomberg Connects and complimentary shuttle service to four historic sites across Brooklyn, many of which are not well-connected via public transportation. HHT will continue to build upon the framework developed through the Accessibility & Innovation Initiative to creatively and collaboratively develop programs and find solutions to meet the needs of all visitors to New York City’s historic treasures. 

About the Historic House Trust of New York City
The Historic House Trust of New York City is a public-private partnership with NYC Parks with a mission to advocate for, promote, and provide expertise to preserve 23 publicly-owned historic house museums located across all five boroughs of New York City. HHT partners with the individual non-profit organizations that operate the historic sites as museums on a daily basis, as well as NYC Parks and other City agencies, to assist in preservation and advocacy efforts. The team manages restoration projects at its partner sites, coordinates daily maintenance needs, advises on best practices in historic preservation, and works to address the evolving needs of its partners and stakeholders. The Historic House Trust, NYC Parks, and its nonprofit partners work together to ensure the long-term preservation of these important places across the city.

Press Contact:
Giulietta Fiore
giulietta.fiore@historichousetrust.org
646-360-0203

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