Study Completed 2021
33,000 square feet
Renovation

Mystic Seaport Museum engaged Oudens Ello Architecture (OEA) in 2020 to study the feasibility of converting a 33,000-square-foot portion of the 143,000-square-foot historic Rossie Mill into a watercraft exhibition facility. Originally a turn-of-the-century velvet mill, the Rossie Mill now functions as a warehouse for the museum’s extensive collection of small watercraft and maritime artifacts, houses the Collections Research Center, and serves as the primary shipping and receiving hub for the Seaport campus.

The proposed conversion—within a complex existing structure combining original wood-framed sawtooth roofs, later steel joists, and load-bearing brick exterior walls—required a change of use and careful resolution of code-mandated fire separation between the new public exhibit spaces and adjacent collection storage areas. A new courtyard was introduced to provide this separation while bringing natural light deep into the center of the building and accommodating the outdoor display of a fully rigged vessel with a keel.

The project proposed modification of three structural bays to create a double-height exhibition hall for taller watercraft, incorporating bleacher seating for lectures, presentations, and special events. A new public entrance at the southeast corner of the mill is anchored by a café/bar, while the former service yard is reimagined as outdoor café seating and a terraced lawn with event potential. Additional improvements include structural upgrades, reconstruction of four bays of the sawtooth roof monitors, a new HVAC system, and new accessible restrooms.