For The Disabled, Benaroya Is State Of The Art

Imagine it is the year 2010. If you're an advocate of disability access with a cautiously optimistic attitude, the following scenarios could turn out to be true:

The words "barrier free" will have nearly attained their fullest meaning, and access to public facilities will have approached genuine equality for all persons with disabilities. If you want to park your wheelchair behind home plate at Safeco Stadium (and can afford the ticket), you'll be able to. If you're shopping in a busy mall, virtually every store and every aisle will be obstacle-free. If you want to sit in the middle section of a multiplex cinema, you'll have that option. Restrooms with wheelchair-friendly stalls will be everywhere, and able-bodied patrons won't occupy them.

We're not there yet. None of the above statements are true today, and some of them won't be true in 2010, but barriers to public access continue to fall at an encouraging pace. With increased awareness and a political mandate from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), architects are remodeling older facilities for increased access where little or none existed. New buildings are incorporating accessible design that is both highly functional and aesthetically pleasing to everyone, regardless of their physical needs. Perfect accessibility is rare, but as the old Beatles song goes, it's getting better all the time.

By the enlightened accessibility standards of 1998, Seattle's marvelous Benaroya Hall scores a big thumbs up. Absolute equality still eludes the wheelchair-using patron (more the result of practicality than any social neglect), but Benaroya meets or exceeds all ADA guidelines to satisfy all but the most militant definition of access. If it isn't a triumph of accessible design, it's as close as we could hope it to be.

Entry to the hall via Third Avenue is level, and power-assisted doors (which open automatically when pulled to 15 degrees) are located at the north and south ends of the Boeing Company Gallery. (Some motion-sensor doors may be installed in the near future - better as an afterthought than not at all.) Metro stops are frequent for lift-equipped buses on Third and in the connecting bus tunnel. Ample disabled parking is up to code in the hall's underground garage, where over-height stalls are available for modified vans.

Seating options in the awesome S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium are abundant. It's all level-entry, accessible by elevator and code-grade ramping. Patrons who remain in their wheelchairs can choose between 10 stations of removable seats in Row D near the stage (allowing you to sit with able-bodied guests), with ample seating available across the rear of the hall on all three tiers.

One box-seat section is accessible on each side of the first tier; there should have been more options, but this should suffice. In addition, the main floor includes 28 aisle seats equipped with sliding side panels for those who transfer from wheelchairs. The sleek mechanism looks like something you'd find on a wood-paneled Batmobile. Additionally, wireless infra-red headsets are provided for the hearing-impaired.

The Recital Hall is similarly equipped, although its smaller size makes some wheelchair locations slightly less than ideal. Accessible restrooms are readily available, including one unisex restroom for those who require a personal assistant. Throughout the hall and gallery, ticketing and food-service counters are two-leveled for wheelchair patrons and able-bodied alike.

Accessibility at Benaroya is not limited to patrons. Musicians, support crews and technical staff are equally accommodated, and in addition to easy stage access there's even a wheelchair lift to the technical booth at the rear of the auditorium's third tier. It appears that no vital access route has been overlooked.

Yes, it would be nice if wheelchairs could roll into the middle of, say, aisle 20, and enjoy a concert without concern for anyone's view. But considering the fact that the hall was built according to demanding priorities of acoustics, sight lines, traffic flow and overall aesthetics, Benaroya remains a remarkable achievement. Maybe a few minor improvements could be made by the year 2010, but for now and the foreseeable future, nobody using wheelchair, walker or cane should feel unduly compromised.

Now, if only they could do something about those Chihuly chandeliers . . . .

Jeff Shannon, a level C-5/6 quadriplegic since 1979, is a freelance film reviewer and former assistant editor of Microsoft's Cinemania Web site.