Naperville, Illinois is a historic suburb of Chicago with a homey downtown area and landmark attractions that are wheelchair accessible.
Have a great beach day at Centennial Beach, a public beach just blocks away from downtown with wheelchair access and an ADA lift. Naper Settlement makes wheelchair access available for its collection of historic homes, participating in the museum experience is easy for everyone. The Millennium Carillon is a bell tower featuring 72 bells, towering 160 feet above downtown Naperville. The tower features a wheelchair accessible observation deck.
Naperville has also made ADA accessibility a focus in its rapid growth and has handicapped parking spaces across the downtown area and makes wheelchair access available throughout the Naperville Park District park network.
Centennial Beach
Centennial Beach has handicap access throughout the space and features an ADA lift to allow for wheelchair access into the pool. Please reach out to the Park district about accommodations for anyone who wishes to swim. The beach has adult swim hours, and special needs swim nights. Please find more information at centennialbeach.org.
Construction began during the Great Depression to help local misplaced workers and was unveiled to public in 1934. In 2008, the beach explored the possibility of making significant enhancements to the facility. The city of Naperville assessed ADA accessibility and asked for feedback from residents in a two year renovation process to bring disability access to the beach. After renovations, the beach now has a ADA lift and wheelchair accesible bathrooms. Centennial Beach is classified as a beach by the Illinois Department of Health and not as a swimming pool because of the large body of water that holds over 6.2 million gallons of water.
In 2019, the beach is open between May 25th to September 2nd. Check the beach for holiday, weekday, and weekend hours.
Naper Settlement
Naper Settlement ensures that all guests, even those in wheelchairs or that require special needs, engage in the museum experience. All guests are encouraged to call and plan their visit if special accommodations are needed. Most of the historic buildings have handicapped access with the use of lifts and ramps. The museum also has accessible restrooms and elevators.
Come to Naper Settlement to enjoy a hands-on experience and tours led by educators in period costumes. Located just blocks away from downtown Naperville, take a tour of America past. Check the museum for updated hours, there are both Winter and Summer hours. Make sure to visit May 18th – May 19th, 2019 for Civil War Days. An exhibition of the life of Union & Confederate soldier, and their daily struggles. Find more information at napersettlement.org
Moser Tower & Millennium Carillon
Check out Naperville’s 160 ft tower and 72 bell carillon, overlooking the beautiful downtown Naperville Riverwalk. Built in 1999, the Moser Tower & Millennium Carillon has been a hallmark of the Naperville landscape ever since. It is known as the Millennium Carillon because it was built to celebrate the third millennium and the new 21st century.
All visitors, whether able bodied or in wheelchairs, are encouraged to ride the elevator to the Gallery Level Observation Deck. Being able to see the greater Naperville area, with the ability to see the Willis Tower and Chicago skyline. The visitor center is available free of charge, and tours are available for $3 per person. Before you visit, please check out naperville-carillon.org for more information.
The Carillon is open between April 27th – October 27th, 2019. The Tower is open for tours on Saturdays between 10am – 4pm and Sundays between 12pm – 6pm. The Tower opens on Fridays between 10am – 4pm from May 24th – August 9th also. If you prefer not to tour the Carillon, make sure to stop by one of the recitals that run from June 4th – August 20th every Tuesday. A carillonuer will play to the entire city, please enjoy the music on the lawn in front of the tower.
Naperville has many accessible activities to offer, please take some time to check out the Centennial Beach, Naper Settlement, or the Moser Tower & Millennium Carillon. Naperville has so much more than just these, make sure to eat out at one of the new restaurants like Allegory & Santo Cielo or enjoy a night at the accessible Hotel Indigo on the Naperville Riverwalk.