DUMBO

Why go

The bridge anchorages and industrial buildings make the neighborhood’s geography immediately legible. Large former workspaces now support residential and commercial life, but their scale still speaks to manufacturing and shipping. Walking between the old blocks and the waterfront reveals that reuse more clearly than heading straight to a single bridge-view photograph.

What to look for

• Belgian-block streets run among nineteenth- and early twentieth-century industrial buildings.
• The Manhattan Bridge anchorage dominates the neighborhood’s waterfront setting.
• Warehouse facades preserve the scale of the former manufacturing district.

The full story

DUMBO’s name expands to Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Residents coined the acronym in 1978, during the period when artists were moving into former industrial lofts. Its physical identity was older: the area had served as a ferry landing and manufacturing district, producing machinery, paper boxes and Brillo soap pads. The Robert Gair building on Washington Street recalls one of those industries. Gair’s work in cardboard-box production helped give the area the earlier name Gairsville. After manufacturing declined, the relatively large workspaces attracted people seeking room for homes and studios. Later redevelopment brought more expensive housing and commercial uses. This sequence is useful when looking at the buildings: their broad windows and warehouse proportions were not designed as decorative scenery for a waterfront neighborhood. They are the surviving shell of the work that once made the district economically useful.

Useful to know

• Pair the industrial blocks with Brooklyn Bridge Park for a change from enclosed streets to open river views.
• Treat galleries and other indoor venues as separate stops from the public neighborhood walk.

Your next visit

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