Hudson Fisheries Barge

The Hudson Fisheries Barge Museum was conceived as the centerpiece of the Hudson Fisheries Trust, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the skills, history, and traditions of the Hudson River’s commercial fishing families — a cultural legacy stretching back to the region’s native peoples, now threatened not by obsolescence but by pollution.

The museum was designed to occupy a 120- by 40-foot replica of the turn-of-the-century railroad barges that once formed New York Harbor’s “railroad navy.” The upper level would recreate a traditional fishing camp — galley, bunkhouse, netloft, and boat shop — while the lower level would house state-of-the-art gallery spaces, a media center, and interactive displays.
The barge was intended to travel the river, bringing a Hudson River fishing village and education center to any waterfront community virtually overnight, accompanied by a crew skilled in netmaking, boatbuilding, and traditional fishing methods.