Fulton Street Wholesale Market Company Building Adaptive Reuse 

Chicago, IL

Two of the oldest meatpacking buildings located at the entrance of the Fulton Randolph Market Historic District established in 2015 have been transformed from their origins in the poultry trade and meatpacking industry into a unique mixed-use entertainment venue occupying ¾ of a city block.

AltusWorks served as the Historic Preservation Architect charged with determining the restoration program for the two contributing properties whose street facades were constructed of brick, terra cotta, limestone and cast iron. In collaboration with the structural engineer, a strategy was developed to replace the original structural systems while protecting the historic fabric. Due to widely varying levels of deterioration across the facades, AltusWorks brokered an agreement with the City’s Landmark Commission to brace, stabilize, and restore in situ the two most significant façades of the Fulton Market Warehouse as a new structural system was inserted behind, a preservation approach commonly known as a facadectomy. The lesser significant facades were carefully dismantled, decorative masonry and cast iron elements salvaged, and the historic design diligently recreated by integrating the salvaged elements amidst new material.

Today the venue hosts a variety of restaurants complimented by bowling, Karaoke, and more.