Visual Elements
Materials brought into the space also play into the vintage narrative. Conduits, ducts, air conditioning and electrical wiring are on exhibit. Groundswell Design Group salvaged wood joists from a project that was being torn down to make way for new development and had them repurposed into La Peg’s tables. Their natural aged texture and apparent wear stands as a testament to the wood fiber’s utilitarian past. Exact replicas of early 1900s period lighting were installed throughout the space, including cantilevered lamp-post lighting that bends over the booths.
La Peg’s artwork recounts its origins. Groundswell Design Group brought the water-holding tanks back into the space and repositioned them around the restaurant. The team discovered a map of the pumping station’s service area in the building, which now decorates one wall. As part of the designers’ historic research, they examined old photos and unearthed a black-and-white image taken the day the firehouse pump station opened in 1903. Using vinyl scrim as a canvas, they enlarged the image to 30- by 30-feet and had it cut into panels that fit across the sections of the motorized retractable door to recreate the scene behind the bar.
The FringeArts building is located at the foot of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and across from Race Street Pier, which was recently made into park and promenade evocative of New York City’s High Line’s landscape palette. Thanks to its locale, the drama further unfolds through the enormous palladium windows.
“Being in this space creates a rich experience,” Fierabend notes. “In addition to the raw and repurposed interior materials, there are stunning views of the 1920s metal suspension bridge, and trains pass nearby, so those sights and sounds take you back to a different era.”
Exterior Character
Philadelphia is reinventing the Delaware River waterfront; to enhance a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, the city closed off vehicle traffic at the “elbow” end portion of Race Street. The project team took advantage of the closed area to add an outdoor plaza off the restaurant. Technically, the city still considers this portion of Race Street “active” with sewer services and a water main activation point running beneath the plaza. So, as part of the design process, it was a requirement that the city retain the ability for trucks to access the area.
Groundswell Design Group transplanted 20- and 30-foot-tall honey locust trees from another site that was being developed into a hotel. The site design placed the trees far enough apart to allow trucks to get through even as the trees grow. “It was a great solution because the trees would’ve just been cut down, and they are so large that they provide instant shade here,” Fierabend says. Groundswell Design Group also brought 4- by 4-foot bluestone slabs from Princeton University’s walkways that dated back to the early 1900s into the plaza.
Woolsey, who was a very hands-on restaurateur during the design process, initially envisioned the restaurant as a traditional French brasserie. Respecting the building’s illustrious past, Fierabend knew that the space didn’t lend itself to that type of design but he also acknowledged that the space needed to resonate with Woolsey on a deep level. To find the perfect balance, the two spent a lot of time together going on tours of other restaurants, looking at books in coffee shops and even hanging out at Woolsey’s home. “It’s really important that the restaurant represent the soul of the chef,” Fierabend asserts. “It was a bit of a dance at first, but La Peg ended up being reminiscent of a gritty French bistro, which works beautifully for the space and met Woolsey’s aspirations.”
Having the restaurant spill into the outdoor plaza furthers the French ambiance. Tree stumps and wooden picnic tables provide seating and bring organic elements into the urban streetscape. The very informal dining experience inspired Woolsey to serve a different menu of pub food outside that contrasts to the more elegant fare served at La Peg indoors. Site elevation changes produce a 3-foot difference from the lowest point to the center of the building, so Groundswell Design Group created a tiered area with handicap accessibility. Finishing touches came in the form of lighting.
“We gracefully uplit the building and strewed lighting randomly from tree to tree, using outdoor market bulbs that lend the flavor of a European alley or side street,” Fieraband explains. “La Peg has done really well, and we’re really pleased that people are responding to the design, Chef Woolsey’s menus and the history of the place.”
PHOTOS: Matt Wargo