Fish Market Lunchroom & Oyster Shucking Shed

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The Fish Market Lunchroom and its associated Oyster Shucking Shed were built between 1916 and 1918, in conjunction with the construction of the Municipal Fish Market in the area now known as The Wharf.

Although they are now attached, the lunchroom and shed were originally distinct structures whose functions were important to the popular Municipal Fish Market. Both the lunchroom building and adjancet shed were likely designed by and constructed under the supervision of DC Municipal Architect Snowden Ashford in a Colonial Revival style. They reflected the growth of the City Beautiful Movement and the increasing intervention of the federal goverment into the regulation and sanitation of the popular Municipal Wharf. Over the years, the lunchroom and shed were extensively altered, losing much of their historic fabric. In fact, the lunchroom was even enclosed within an additional building on its south and west elevations. They were eventually converted to locker room space.

The Fish Market Lunchroom and Oyster Shucking Shed underwent an award-winning restoration in 2018. This detailed restoration and rehabilitation was guided by historic documentation (drawings). Today, in a nod to the property's history, they house the Rappahannock Oyster Bar. Sitting at the northwest end of The Wharf, they are a key historic landmark along the DC Waterfront, as the only remaining reminders of the Municipal Fish Market’s heyday in the 1920s and 1930s.

DC Inventory: November 19, 2015