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ADA Access & Accommodations

Access & Accommodations

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is committed to providing students, faculty, staff, and visitors with disabilities equal access to SAIC-sponsored programs and events, such as visiting artist lectures, film screenings, exhibitions, year-end thesis shows, student art sales, symposia, and alumni events. Below you'll find information for SAIC visitors. 

Students and employees can find details on accommodations via the Disability & Learning Resource Center.

If you plan to attend a program or event at SAIC and would like to request accommodations such as captioning or interpretation, assisted listening, furniture/seating access, or recording, please complete the Accessibility Request Form. Please allow two business days for staff to make proper arrangements. Please note that an event or program hosted by a third-party organization renting SAIC facilities is not considered an SAIC-sponsored program or event.

  • All School buildings are accessible at street level. Each building has accessible door doors at the main entrance which are clearly marked to accommodate people with disabilities.

    Accessible parking, provided by third-party corporations, is located in the following garages near SAIC buildings. Please note that rates vary and that SAIC does not reimburse for parking expenses. Also note that none of there may be parking restrictions for oversized vans.

    • Millennium Park garage (enter at Columbus Drive and Monroe Street), with 6' 8' clearance in some sections and an elevator at the exit
    • Grant Park North garage (enter at Michigan Avenue between Madison and Randolph), with 6' 6" clearance for vans and an elevator at the exit
    • 55 East Monroe Street garage (enter at Columbus Drive and Monroe Street), with 6' 8" clearance and exit ramps at Monroe Street

  • Building

    Access

    MacLean
    112 S. Michigan Ave.

    The building's automatic entrance door is located 2 doors south on Michigan Ave and can be opened with SAIC keycard swipe or tap the numbers on the panel. This elevator takes riders to the 1st floor where security desk check-in with photo ID is required. To reach the MacLean Ballroom from the security desk, take the main bank of elevators to floor 2M.

    Lakeview Building
    116 S. Michigan Ave.

    The building is equipped with an automatic entrance door leading to elevators to all floors. All buildings at SAIC require security desk check-in with photo ID.

    280 Building
    280 S. Columbus Dr.

    The building is equipped with an automatic entrance door. All floors are accessible via the elevator or wheelchair stair lift. All buildings at SAIC require security desk check-in with photo ID.

    Sullivan Center
    36 S. Wabash Ave.

    The Sullivan Center is equipped with an automatic entrance door at both the Wabash and State St. entrances. All buildings at SAIC require security desk check-in with photo ID.

    Sharp Building
    37 S. Wabash Ave.

    The building is equipped with an automatic entrance door next to the revolving doors. Neiman Center gallery and lecture spaces are on the first floor. Upper floors can be accessed by elevators located just past the security desk. All buildings at SAIC require security desk check-in with photo ID.

    Homan Square
    906 S. Homan Square

    The south side of the building is equipped with an automatic entrance door with a call box to alert the security desk to activate the door.

    Art Institute of Chicago (museum)
    Rubloff Auditorium
    230 S. Columbus Dr.

    Entry from 230 S. Columbus Dr. does not have an automatic entrance door, but staff are stationed at the doors for events. The auditorium is wheelchair accessible and and hearing assisted devices are available. Sign language interpretation is available upon request for any public lecture or gallery talk.

    Art Institute of Chicago (museum)
    Fullerton Hall

    Fullerton Hall is accessible via the main (Michigan Ave) entrance of the museum. All museum auditoriums are equipped with designated wheelchair areas, and hearing assisted devices are available. Sign language interpretation is available upon request for any public lecture. All auditoriums are equipped with an assistive listening system that includes t-coil compatibility. Devices are available free of charge in the back of each auditorium. Earpieces are provided, and each device supports a standard 3.5mm connection for personal headphones or adaptive devices.

    Gene Siskel Film Center
    164 N. State Street

    The Film Center is fully ADA accessible. Spaces have been designated to accommodate two wheelchairs or mobility devices in each auditorium, providing unrestricted sightlines. Up to four companion seats, if needed, have been set aside next to each wheelchair-accessible area. Both theaters are equipped with hearing loops. Open Captioned (OC) showtimes are presented with on screen subtitling and sound descriptions. For more information, please visit the Gene Siskel Film Center Accessibility & Inclusion page.

    SAIC Galleries
    33 E. Washington St    		SAIC Galleries are fully ADA accessible. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. while exhibitions are open, the galleries are free and open to the public. Visitors must present a state-issued ID at the security desk.

  • Elevators
    Elevators are located throughout the School, with elevator service to all publicly accessible floors. When visiting a building for the first time, ask the SAIC security officer on duty the best route to the floor(s) you wish to access.

    Mobility Devices
    All areas of the School are accessible by wheelchair. These devices include manual or electric single seat chairs, electric mobility seated scooters and knee scooters, and other manually operated mobility devices including walkers, crutches, canes, braces, and other similar devices.

    Hearing-Assist Devices
    The following SAIC facilities are equipped with hearing-assistance devices:

    MacLean Center
    112 South Michigan Avenue
    SAIC Ballroom, 2nd floor, room 816

    Sharp Building
    37 South Wabash Avenue
    The LeRoy Neiman Center, 1st floor, room 327

  • Animals are not permitted in any SAIC campus building. However,  Service animals are permitted in all SAIC buildings for individuals with disabilities.

    A service animal is defined as any dog (or in some cases a miniature horse) that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.  The work or task that the dog performs must be directly related to the individual’s disability, and can include a wide variety of services, such as assisting those with low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, recognizing an impending seizure, and retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone. Students who use a service animal are not required to register the animal with SAIC administration.  

    SAIC reserves the right to require the student to immediately remove a service animal from any SAIC building if (i) the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, (ii) the owner cannot effectively control the animal, or (iii) the animal is not housebroken.

Gender Neutral Restrooms

  • 33 E. Washington St. 

    Single Stall Locations: 

    • Floor LL2: LL2-41
    • Floor LL3: LL3-18, LL3-19

    Multi Stall Locations:  

    • Floor LL2: LL2-45, LL2-46 

  • 112 S. Michigan Ave. 

    Single Stall Locations: 

    • Floor 1: 115
    • Floor 3: 320, 321
    • Floor 4: 427
    • Floor 13: 1309 
    • Floor 16: 1622, 1623

  • 116 S. Michigan Ave. 

    Single Stall Locations: 

    • Floor 2: 208
    • Floor 8: 810
    • Floor 10: 1016
    • Floor 11: 1118
    • Floor 13: 1322
    • Floor 14: 1430
    • Floor 15: 1501

  • 162 N. State St. 

    Single Stall Locations:

    • Floor 4: 404

  • 280 S. Columbus Dr. 

    No single stall locations.

    Multi Stall Locations:

    • Floor 2: 230, 231

  • 36 S. Wabash Ave. 

    Single Stall Locations:

    • Floor 12: 1254

    Multi Stall Locations:

    • Floor 14: 1420, 1421

  • 37 S. Wabash Ave. 

    Single Stall Locations:

    • Floor 2: 250
    • Floor 3: 341
    • Floor 5: 508
    • Floor 6: 607, 608

    Multi Stall Locations:

    • Floor 5: 507
    • Floor 10: 1004 

  • 7 W. Madison Ave. 

    Single Stall Locations: 

    • Floor 3: 309
    • Floor 15: 1502C

  • 164 N. State St. 

    Single Stall Locations:

    • Floor 3