Blind / Low Vision

Braille exhibit text available in the visitor center

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Braille

• Braille brochures of the memorial are available in the bookstore free of charge.
• Braille is available on restroom signs and information panels throughout the memorial.
• Braille is also available on multiple exhibits in the bookstore.

Audio Description

• The UniDescription App audio describes many National Park Service official map and guide publications, including the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and other memorials on the National Mall. It is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.
• Also available is an audio described version of the memorial and a detailed description and audio tour of the memorial.
• Audio descriptions are available on all information panels throughout the memorial. Please be aware that some audio descriptions are broken.

 

Social Programs columns and tiles

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Tactile Elements

• There are many engraved quotes and words throughout the memorial that visitors may touch.
• There are sculptures throughout the memorial that visitors can touch, including a life-size statue of Roosevelt in a wheelchair in the Prologue Room and life-size statues of a breadline and a man listening to a fireside chat in the 2^nd term room. There is a larger-than-life size statue of Roosevelt in a kitchen chair with casters and his beloved dog, Fala, in the 3^rd term room. In the 4^th term room, there is a larger-than-life sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt. The largest and most misunderstood tactile is in the 2^nd term room. There are five bronze bas relief panels with individual sections representing Roosevelt’s 54 New Deal programs, and five bronze freestanding cylinders covered with the negative (or reverse) images of textural elements on the wall. The artist interspersed some elements of braille in the bronze reliefs to both encourage touch and to bring attention to the Roosevelt administration’s concern for people with disabilities.
• The tactile elements on information panels display a miniature version of some sculptures throughout the park: FDR and Fala, Tumbled Blocks, Room Four Fountain, The Funeral Cortege, and FDR wheelchair sculpture

 

Stairs in the 4th term room

Photo: NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Hazards

• There are fountains located throughout the memorial. One in the 1^st term room, two in the 2^nd term room, one in the 3^rd term room, and two in the fourth term room. Be cautious when approaching the fountains, as some do not have barriers.
• As visitors approach different exhibits in the memorial, some stones in the walls protrude into the walkway. A cane will not detect the high, protruding stone. Stay in the middle of pathways to avoid.
• Be cautious in the 4^th term room, as there is a set of four stairs creating a half-circle across from the large fountain.