Renovations of historic McNasby Oyster Company building
on track for October completion
July 17, 2025—The new floor at McNasby's has been poured. Have a look at a slide show of the job. There were places where almost a foot of concrete had to be added to level out the floor in the entire building.
June 19, 2025—Under general contractor Whiting-Turner’s supervision, the new red roof is complete, interior spaces have been cleared for action, the brick façade on the street side has been stripped away to reveal the original textured cement block wall. Mason John Smith of Banner Masonry recycles the original block rescued from an interior wall to fill a gap on the exterior wall. The block was made in the 1920s and 30s in the Eastport neighborhood, and lime for the mortar was made from oyster shells shucked at the McNasby site.
June 5, 2025—The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and more than a dozen sub-contractors are making progress on the $1.2 million renovation of the historic McNasby Oyster Company building. Since the start of the work in early May, the building already has a new red roof, new rain gutters and soffet and facia. The interior demolition is complete, providing room for the main exhibition gallery and the assembly hall. The exterior red brick wall has been demolished to reveal the original cement block wall. Modern window and door openings have been blocked up, and next week, glass block windows will be installed in their original locations along the street side of the building. Kirby Mehrhof is the architect.
The project has been funded by grants from the City of Annapolis—which owns the property—the State of Maryland, the Maryland Historical Trust, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Rotary Club of Annapolis, the Carol M. Jacobsohn Foundation, and donations from the Boatyard Bar & Grill, BB&T, Comcast, Alex Brown & Sons Foundation, the Keith Campbell Foundation, Charles Schwab & Co., Chaney Enterprises, the Clayton Foundation, Constellation Energy, Diamond Beach Development, Fawcett Boat Supplies, the Hand Foundation, H.J. Heinz Company, Jaguar/Land Rover of Annapolis, J.M. Kaplan Fund, River Crest Design Build, and a large number of private individuals, including Art Birney, Chris Coile, Raymond & Marla Tils, Tom & Karen Hanrahan, Charles Irish, Jack Morkan, Joyce Pratt, William & Maureen Torgerson, Mike Wallace, the Museum Board of Directors, Museum Advisory Board, and many others.
Donations for the renovations are now being accepted in the memory of Museum Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus Peg Wallace, who passed in March.
AMM Launches Renovations
to the Historic McNasby Oyster Company Building
Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer and Maryland Senator John Astle joined more than 100 Museum members and supporters to launch the renovations of the historic McNasby Oyster Company building on Wednesday, May 7.
The Reverend Callie Matthews, pastor of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, delivered an invocation in memory of Museum co-founder and chairman emeritus Peg Wallace, who passed away in March.
Arlene Berlin read a proclamation of support from Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold. Museum Chairman L.B. “Buck” Buchanan thanked the audience for their support, then he, Mayor Moyer and Senator Astle hauled on a line attached to a golden anchor to pull down the building's modern brick façade to reveal its original cement block exterior.
Lyle Smith, who used to work at the McNasby Oyster Company, with Museum supporters Carol and Dave Stahl, all of Annapolis. |
Art Tuers, whose brother worked at McNasby’s, Sharie Valerio, who’s conducting interviews of former shuckers and watermen, and Joe Duval, president of River Crest Design Build, all of Annapolis. |
Senator John Astle, Mayor Moyer, and AMM Chairman L.B. “Buck” Buchanan, hauled on an anchor line to pull down a modern brick wall to reveal the McNasby building’s original cement block exterior. Photos courtesy John Bildahl Photography |
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Museum signs contract with Whiting-Turner to renovate historic McNasby Oyster Company building
Mayor Ellen O. Moyer attended a ceremony at the Annapolis Maritime Museum on Friday, April 4, 2008, to celebrate the signing of the contract with Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to renovate the city-owned McNasby Oyster Company building.
Museum chairman L.B. “Buck” Buchanan announced to the audience of about 30 museum supporters that the $1 million contract would result in transforming the historic oyster-packing plant into a world-class waterfront educational facility for the city’s school children, residents and visitors. The Museum has a 50-year lease on the building, the last of at least a dozen oyster houses that once operated in the city. The renovations were planned in cooperation with Kirby Mehrhof Architects, the 2004 AIA Honor Award-winning Annapolis architectural firm whose work encompasses a mix of residential, commercial and institutional projects.
The Museum Board of Directors has raised the funds to finance the renovation over the past seven years. The City of Annapolis has provided $100,000 of capital grants, which have been matched 10 to 1 with $437,000 in private and corporate donations, $73,000 from the Annapolis Rotary Club, $400,000 in Maryland State grants, and a $100,000 grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Corporate donors include the Boatyard Bar and Grill, Comcast, BB&T and Annapolis Jaguar/Land Rover, which sponsor the annual Boatyard Beach Party fund-raiser, plus Cummins Power and H.J. Heinz Company.
In addition, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Four Rivers Heritage Area, and other organizations have funded the development and design of the McNasby building’s key permanent exhibition, Oysters on the Half Shell. The building will be open for public programs and temporary exhibits by October; meanwhile, the Museum will continue raising additional funds needed for the fabrication and installation of the oyster exhibition.
With the McNasby building under renovation, the Museum has been providing a number of award-winning programs for school children, adults, and visitors out of the small Barge House, including Bay education programs for 4th graders, 8th graders, elementary after-school groups, an adult maritime heritage seminar series, tours of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, and the summer maritime concert series. These programs are conducted by nearly 250 volunteers, who last year alone logged 7,000 hours of service time.
“We’ve accomplished so much for the community for the past three years based in the 600-square-foot Barge House,” Buchanan noted. “Imagine what we’ll be able to do once the 7,000-square-foot McNasby building is finished.”
Annapolis Maritime Museum |
PO Box 3088 |
Annapolis, MD 21403
410 295-0104
office@amaritime.org
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