BOAT HOUSE BAR
Boat House Bar
A playful mix of history and design, this adaptive reuse project transforms a vintage Chesapeake oyster boat and salvaged materials into a lively community gathering space. Rooted in local fishing culture, the bar honors tradition while offering a fresh and unforgettable destination.
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Interior Design
Studios
Location
Deale, MD
Kimmel Studio designed this highly original outdoor bar which instantly became a favorite destination fitting perfectly in its community.
We found a real 1960s Chesapeake deadrise oyster boat, turned it into a bar, and designed a fitting boat shed around it. In this original tale of adaptive reuse, the boat was not the only recycled element.
The metal used for the shed roof and the wood used for the siding were reclaimed from a nearby barn. The bar stools are made from boat stands. The boat sits on —also recycled— rail road tracks so that it can be moved in and out of the building.
Plenty of recycling and adaptive reuse create a unique new structure which is paradoxically charged with history. More specifically, the bar is deeply connected with the history and idiosyncrasies of the fishing communities of Deale, Maryland—where the boat is currently "anchored."
Photography: Pete Albert Photography