Dumbo, Brooklyn

Dumbo(orDUMBO,an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is a neighborhood in theNew York City boroughofBrooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between theManhattanandBrooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn toManhattanacross theEast River, and another extending eastward from the Manhattan Bridge to theVinegar Hillarea. The neighborhood is bounded byBrooklyn Bridge Parkto the north, the Brooklyn Bridge to the west,Brooklyn Heightsto the south, and Vinegar Hill to the east. Dumbo is part ofBrooklyn Community Board 2.
Dumbo has historically been known by several names, including Gairville,Rapailie, Olympia, and Walentasville.The area was originally aferrylanding, characterized by 19th- and early 20th-century industrial and warehouse buildings,Belgian blockstreets, and its location on the East River by the imposing anchorage of the Manhattan Bridge. A large number of the buildings in Dumbo were bought by developerDavid Walentasand his company Two Trees Management in the late 20th century, and remade into an upscale residential and commercial community—first becoming a haven for artgalleries, and currently a center for technologystartups.
Dumbo earned the nickname "the center of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle"thanks to its thriving community of tech startups. This designation coincided with its rise to become Brooklyn's most affluent neighborhood and the fourth-wealthiest community in New York City; this is owing in part to its large concentration of technologystartups, its close proximity to Manhattan, and its large number of former industrial buildings that have been converted into spaciousluxuryresidentiallofts.The neighborhood contains the corporate headquarters for e-commerce retailerEtsyand home furnishing stores companyWest Elm.
The name is anacronymof "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass". The area has been known variously as Rapailie, Olympia, and Walentasville;the developer who began its current gentrification is Two Trees Management, led at the time by David Walentas.The "Olympia" name came fromComfortandJoshua Sands, who bought the land in 1787and were planning to develop the land as a summer place for New Yorkers.Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the area now known as Dumbo was considered part ofVinegar Hill.
In the 1890s, the western portion of the neighborhood was known asFulton Landing, after theferrystop that connected it to Manhattan before theBrooklyn Bridgeopened. At that time, it was primarily a manufacturing district, with warehouses and factories that made machinery, paper boxes, spices andBrillosoap pads. Thecardboard boxwas invented in the Robert Gair building on Washington Street byRobert Gair, a Scottish emigrant; because of Gair's fame, the area was known as Gairsville for a long time.The Gair building is now home toEtsy.
The Jay Street Connecting Railroad ran through Dumbo's waterfront from circa 1904–1906 through 1957. It ran from rail yards beneath the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges to buildings near the waterfront in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill. At the height of operations, it had spurs into several buildings, acar float bridgeon Bridge Street, and a yard with capacity of 120 cars.The tracks were abandoned in 1959,though the railroad's tracks are still visible on streets in Dumbo.In 1968, there was a proposal to relocate the Fort Greene Meat Market to Dumbo,though the market was ultimately moved toSunset Parkinstead.
With thedeindustrializationof New York City, Dumbo began to become primarily residential; artists and other younghomesteadersseeking relatively large and inexpensiveloft apartmentspaces for studios and homes began moving there in the late 1970s.The acronym "Dumbo" arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers.
Near the end of the 20th century, as property became more and more expensive in Manhattan, Dumbo became increasinglygentrified. Even so, the acronym "Dumbo" was largely unknown as late as 1997, and the area itself was very inclusive, serving mainly as an enclave for artists located along theEast Riverand under theManhattan Bridge. At this stage there were still many air conditioner repair shops, auto shops, and "seedy back alleys and wharves"; and, because the neighborhood was still gentrifying from its industrial past, it lacked even a bookstore, coffee shop, orlaundromat.The efforts ofJoy Glidden, the Founding Director of the Dumbo Arts Center (DAC) and co-founder of the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival, achieved successful development in Dumbo, which is now a model for similar waterfront developments around the world.Glidden stated of Dumbo's gentrification, "It may be one of the last of what could be considered a true arts community in New York."
The DUMBO Historic District, a historic industrial complex and nationalhistoric districtin Dumbo, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2000.It consists of 95 contributing buildings; the manufacturing concerns located in this district includedBenjamin Moore & Co.(paint),Arbuckle Brothers(coffee and sugar), J.W. Masury & Son (paint), Robert Gair (paper boxes), E.W. Bliss (machinery), and Brillo (soap pads). The district includes the earliest large-scalereinforced concretefactory buildings in America.On December 18, 2007, theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commissionvoted unanimously to designate Dumbo as the city's 90th historic district. The Dumbo historic district consists of properties bounded by John Street to the north, York Street to the south, Main Street to the west, and Bridge Street to the east.
The area has emerged as one of New York City's premier arts districts, with a cluster of for-profit art galleries such as the Klompching Gallery, and such not-for-profit institutions as theSt. Ann's WarehousetheA.I.R. Galleryand the first post-COVID-19 performance venue to open in the areaThe Rat NYC(May 2024).
ChefJacques Torresopened a chocolate factory in Dumbo in December 2000.Other culinary businesses in the area includeGrimaldi's,Ample Hills Creamery,Almondine Bakery,and theRiver Café,all clustered in Fulton Landing, also home toBargemusic, a floating venue for classical music.John Fluevog, a Canadian shoe designer, opened a store on Main Street in November 2017.
The first public space in the neighborhood wasFulton Ferry,followed byEmpire-Fulton Ferry State Park.The first six acres ofBrooklyn Bridge Park, a joint state/city venture under development, were opened in March 2010.The Cliffs at DUMBO is a 7,800 square foot outdoor climbing gym located in the Main Street section of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and is the largest outdoorboulderinggym in North America.
The building at 200 Water Street, which the Brillo Manufacturing Co. once occupied, is being renovated as a high-end condo building.
The DUMBO Archway is a popular location for film shoots, art exhibitions, live music, large-scale events, and watch parties for events like theWorld Cup.The trailer forJoker, the 2019 film by Todd Phillips, features actorJoaquin Phoenixas theJokerrunning through the archway.The Archway also hosts theBrooklyn Fleaevery Sunday from April to October.The outdoor market features 80 vendors, and the products range from secondhand goods to custom-made jewelry.
Gleason's Gym, located on Water Street, is the oldest boxing gym in New York. Many champions have trained there, includingMuhammad AliandMike Tyson.The gym has been located in DUMBO since the 1980s. It moved from 77 Front Street to its current location at 130 Water Street in 2016.The legendary boxing coach Hector Roca still teaches at the Water Street location. In addition to boxing champions, Roca has trained many actors, includingWesley Snipes,Hilary Swank,Jennifer Lopez, andJohn Leguizamo.
The renovation ofEmpire Storeson Water Street was completed in 2017. Previously, it had been a Civil War era coffee warehouse.It was converted to mixed-use retail and office space, and it includes West Elm's global flagship store.Other retailers in Empire Stores include Detroit-based watchmakerShinolaand the café and accessories store,FEED Projects. In May 2017, theBrooklyn Historical Society(BHS) opened a new branch in Empire Stores (its main location is inBrooklyn Heights). BHS features exhibits and artifacts relating to DUMBO's industrial past.In May 2019,Time OutMarket opened in Empire Stores. The food hall features 21 local vendors, including the Breads Bakeryand DUMBO's renowned pizzeria,Juliana's.
Dumbo has New York City's highest concentration of technology firms by neighborhood.Dumbo is home to 25 percent of New York City-based tech firms. Within a 10-block radius are 500 tech and creative firms that employ over 10,000 people.It also contains the corporate headquarters for e-commerce retailerEtsyand home furnishing stores company West Elm.
The City of New York, in conjunction withNew York University, installed an incubator in Dumbo to support development of tech start-ups.Dumbo's average office rent of US$25 per square foot ($269/m) made it (as of 2013) more attractive to start-ups than Manhattan, where rents averaged $40 per square foot ($431/m) in 2013.
The neighborhood contains theFarragut Houses, a group of ten towers managed by theNew York City Housing Authority.
New York City Subwaystations are located atYork Street(Fand<F>​ trains) on theIND Sixth Avenue Line, andHigh Street(Aand ​Ctrains) on theIND Eighth Avenue Line.New York City Busservice is provided by theB25,B67,B69.
Ramps and staircases connect the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge walkways to Dumbo.
In June 2011,NY Waterwaystarted service to points along the East River.On May 1, 2017, that route became part of theNYC Ferry's East River route, which runs betweenPier 11/Wall Streetin Manhattan'sFinancial Districtand theEast 34th Street Ferry LandinginMurray Hill, Manhattan, with five intermediate stops in Brooklyn and Queens.One of the East River Ferry's stops is atFulton Ferryin Dumbo.
TheBrooklyn Public Library(BPL)'s Adams Street branch is located at 9 Adams Street, between John and Plymouth Streets.The 6,000-square-foot (560 m) Adams Street branch, designed by WORKac, occupies a former factory.The branch started construction in 2020 and cost $7 million to build.It opened in October 2021 and was the first BPL branch to open in Brooklyn since 1983.