A wooden wheelchair ramp, 1952. The University of Illinois was the first university to provide wheelchair access for disabled World War II veterans.
University of Illinois
In the 1950s, disabled veterans and other people with disabilities begin the barrier-free movement. The combined efforts of the U.S. Veterans Administration, the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the National Easter Seals Society, among others, result in the development of national standards for "barrier-free" buildings.
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