Page 48 - Summer_2019

ArchDC Summer 2019.qxp_Spring 2019 5/22/19 2:58 PM Page 46
The revitalized fish market site, with the reconstructed
Lunch Room and Oyster Shed in the center foreground,
the vendor’s barges at right, and the main Wharf
development in the background.
The fish market site, with the distillery at left center. Photo © Thomas Holdsworth bricked in on one side and tiled over on the other.
The operations building, with the off-ramp Photo © Thomas Holdsworth
from the I-395 bridge above.
46 FRESHENED FISH MARKET
Photo © Regis Lefebure
Wharf development. Its slender plan allows clear views—and
pedestrian circulation—from Maine Avenue to the water. The fifth
new structure, located at the northwestern corner of the site and
surrounding one of the support piers of the highway ramp, provides
space for mechanical equipment and other operations functions.
The restoration of the Lunch Room/Oyster Shed was, of
course, critical to the success of the project. “The building was in
terrible shape,” said project architect Jenna Bolino, AIA. “It was
full of trash, and there was a cheap L-shaped addition. Until we
[demolished] the newer parts, we did not know what we’d find.”
Ultimately, they found that two of the Lunch Room’s original
masonry walls were still standing, with much of the brickwork
intact. The most exciting discovery was an operable, mahogany
door that was in “shockingly good condition,” having been
The Oyster Shed was originally built as an open-air structure
supported by wide-flange steel columns. Structural analysis revealed
that the columns were undersized, however, and many had rusted.
The architects devised a strategy for adding new steel columns as
needed and splicing them to the rusted ones. During restoration,
rafters were numbered, removed, and later reinstalled—new rafters
were judiciously added to ensure adequate support for the roof.
Although the pavilion is now an enclosed restaurant space, the
glassy perimeter walls—with large, operable windows—recall its
original open-air form.
Site investigations also revealed that both the masonry Lunch
Room walls and the steel structure of the Oyster Shed had sunk
toward the water’s edge. The design team decided to insert
“micropiles”—three inches in diameter each—around the structures
in order to shore them up. That proved challenging when it was
discovered that the entire site rested on a relieving platform—