James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, today announced that an agreement has been reached to improve access to the Riverside Theater for persons with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The agreement is contained in a Consent Decree that has been filed in federal district court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The parties to the agreement are the United States Department of Justice, Towne Realty, Inc., and The Riverside Theater Foundation. Towne Realty owns the building which houses the Riverside Theater and The Riverside Theater Foundation operates the theater.

The Riverside Theater is a live music venue located in downtown Milwaukee.

The Consent Decree provides that Towne Realty and The Riverside Theater Foundation will take several steps to improve access to the Riverside Theater for people with disabilities. These steps include:

1. The installation of eighteen new wheelchair accessible seating locations and eighteen companion seats, including seats in prime viewing areas of the theater. The new accessible seating locations require the theater to install permanent platforms to provide level seating areas for wheelchairs;

2. Modifications to one of the aisles in the theater to make it more accessible for wheelchair users;

3. The implementation of a ticketing policy that requires the Riverside Theater to make tickets for wheelchair accessible seating available to people with disabilities in the same manner other seating is made available to the public, including through third-party online ticket vendors; and

4. The installation of improved signage for the accessible features of the theater.

Additionally, as part of the agreement between the United States, Towne Realty Inc., and The Riverside Theater Foundation, modifications have already been made to the wheelchair accessible restroom and one concession counter in the theater to enhance the accessibility of those services.

United States Attorney James L. Santelle stated: “Today’s consent decree reflects the continuing, strong investigative and litigative work of our office in enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act - locally and throughout our district. Disabled Americans have the absolute right to enjoy all of the trappings of life - including access to theater and other public facilities–and we are unconditionally committed to ensuring that fundamental notion is promoted through everything from wheelchair accessibility to facility signage. In this and all other areas of our civil rights mission, we will pursue aggressively and thoughtfully remedial actions to support equality in treatment and fairness in accommodation for all Americans.”

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