Dumbo Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass | |
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 View of Dumbo fromOne World Trade Center in 2016, framed by theBrooklyn Bridge (bottom right) andManhattan Bridge (center left) | |
 Location in New York City | |
  Dumbo Location Show map of New York City Dumbo Dumbo (New York) Show map of New York Dumbo Dumbo (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°42′11″N73°59′24″W / 40.703°N 73.990°W /40.703; -73.990 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Brooklyn |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,975 |
| • Density | 45,000/sq mi (17,000/km2) |
| ZIP Codes | 11201 |
| Area codes | 718, 347, 929, and917 |
DUMBO Industrial District | |
 Plymouth Street, DUMBO Industrial District, March 2008 | |
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| Location | Roughly bounded by Main and Washington Sts, East River, John St., Bridge and Jay Sts., and Front and York Sts.,Brooklyn, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°42′11″N73°59′17″W / 40.70306°N 73.98806°W /40.70306; -73.98806 |
| Area | 48 acres (19 ha) |
| Built | 1883 |
| Architect | multiple |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, et al. |
| NRHP reference No. | 00001151[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 22, 2000 |
Dumbo (orDUMBO,[2][3] an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass[a]) is a neighborhood in theNew York Cityborough ofBrooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between theManhattan andBrooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn toManhattan across theEast River, and another extending eastward from the Manhattan Bridge to theVinegar Hill area. The neighborhood is bounded byBrooklyn Bridge Park to the north, the Brooklyn Bridge to the west,Brooklyn Heights to 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,[7] Rapailie, Olympia, and Walentasville.[8] The area was originally aferry landing, characterized by 19th- and early 20th-century industrial and warehouse buildings,Belgian block streets, 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 Walentas and 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"[9] 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 technology startups, its close proximity to Manhattan, and its large number of former industrial buildings that have been converted into spaciousluxury residentiallofts.[10] The neighborhood contains the corporate headquarters for e-commerce retailerEtsy and home furnishing stores companyWest Elm.
The name is anacronym of "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass". The area has been known variously as Rapailie, Olympia, and Walentasville;[8] the developer who began its current gentrification is Two Trees Management, led at the time by David Walentas.[7] The "Olympia" name came fromComfort andJoshua Sands, who bought the land in 1787[11] and were planning to develop the land as a summer place for New Yorkers.[12] Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the area now known as Dumbo was considered part ofVinegar Hill.[13]
In the 1890s, the western portion of the neighborhood was known asFulton Landing, after theferry stop that connected it to Manhattan before theBrooklyn Bridge opened. At that time, it was primarily a manufacturing district, with warehouses and factories that made machinery, paper boxes, spices andBrillo soap pads. Thecardboard box was 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.[8] The Gair building is now home toEtsy.[14]
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 bridge on Bridge Street, and a yard with capacity of 120 cars.[15][16] The tracks were abandoned in 1959,[17] though the railroad's tracks are still visible on streets in Dumbo.[16] In 1968, there was a proposal to relocate the Fort Greene Meat Market to Dumbo,[18] though the market was ultimately moved toSunset Park instead.[19]
With thedeindustrialization of New York City, Dumbo began to become primarily residential; artists and other younghomesteaders seeking relatively large and inexpensiveloft apartment spaces for studios and homes began moving there in the late 1970s.[3] The acronym "Dumbo" arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers.[3]
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 River and 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.[20] 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.[21] 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."[20]
The DUMBO Historic District, a historic industrial complex and nationalhistoric district in Dumbo, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2000.[1] 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 concrete factory buildings in America.[22] On December 18, 2007, theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 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.[23]
In 2017, aHistoric Districts Council report found that the cobblestone streets in Dumbo did not conform to theAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and that the cobblestones had to be repaired or removed.[24][25] At the time, the city government was already planning to restore the streets.[26] The city government completed a $108 million rehabilitation of cobblestone streets in Dumbo and neighboring Vinegar Hill in 2025.[27] The project uncovered several thousand artifacts from as far back as the 18th century.[27][28]
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 Warehouse theA.I.R. Gallery and the first post-COVID-19 performance venue to open in the areaThe Rat NYC (May 2024).
ChefJacques Torres opened a chocolate factory in Dumbo in December 2000.[29] Other culinary businesses in the area includeGrimaldi's,[30]Ample Hills Creamery,[31] Almondine Bakery,[32] and theRiver Café,[33] all clustered in Fulton Landing, also home toBargemusic, a floating venue for classical music.[34]John Fluevog, a Canadian shoe designer, opened a store on Main Street in November 2017.[35]
The first public space in the neighborhood wasFulton Ferry,[36] followed byEmpire-Fulton Ferry State Park.[37][38] The first six acres ofBrooklyn Bridge Park, a joint state/city venture under development, were opened in March 2010.[39] 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 outdoorbouldering gym in North America.[40][41]
The building at 200 Water Street, which the Brillo Manufacturing Co. once occupied, is being renovated as a high-end condo building.[42]
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.[43][44] The trailer forJoker, the 2019 film by Todd Phillips, features actorJoaquin Phoenix as theJoker running through the archway.[45] The Archway also hosts theBrooklyn Flea every Sunday from April to October.[46] 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 Ali andMike Tyson.[47][48] 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.[49] 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.[50]
The renovation ofEmpire Stores on Water Street was completed in 2017. Previously, it had been a Civil War era coffee warehouse.[51] It was converted to mixed-use retail and office space, and it includes West Elm's global flagship store.[52] Other retailers in Empire Stores include Detroit-based watchmakerShinola and 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.[53] In May 2019,Time Out Market opened in Empire Stores. The food hall features 21 local vendors, including the Breads Bakery[54] and DUMBO's renowned pizzeria,Juliana's.[55][56]
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Dumbo serves as atech hub, and has New York City's highest concentration of technology firms by neighborhood.[14] 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.[14] It also contains the corporate headquarters for e-commerce retailerEtsy[57] and home furnishing stores company West Elm.[58]
The City of New York, in conjunction withNew York University, installed an incubator in Dumbo to support development of tech start-ups.[14] Dumbo's average office rent of US$25 per square foot ($269/m2) made it (as of 2013) more attractive to start-ups than Manhattan, where rents averaged $40 per square foot ($431/m2) in 2013.[14]
The neighborhood contains theFarragut Houses, a group of ten towers managed by theNew York City Housing Authority.[59]
New York City Subway stations are located atYork Street (F and <F> trains) on theIND Sixth Avenue Line, andHigh Street (A and C trains) on theIND Eighth Avenue Line.[60]New York City Bus service is provided by theB25,B67,B69.[61]
Ramps and staircases connect the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge walkways to Dumbo.
In June 2011,NY Waterway started service to points along the East River.[62] On May 1, 2017, that route became part of theNYC Ferry's East River route, which runs betweenPier 11/Wall Street in Manhattan'sFinancial District and theEast 34th Street Ferry Landing inMurray Hill, Manhattan, with five intermediate stops in Brooklyn and Queens.[63][64] One of the East River Ferry's stops is atFulton Ferry in Dumbo.[65]
TheBrooklyn Public Library (BPL)'s Adams Street branch is located at 9 Adams Street, between John and Plymouth Streets.[66] The 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) Adams Street branch, designed by WORKac, occupies a former factory.[67] The branch started construction in 2020 and cost $7 million to build.[68] It opened in October 2021 and was the first BPL branch to open in Brooklyn since 1983.[67][68]
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!["Live at the Archway" is hosted by DUMBO BID every Thursday evening in the summer.[79]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aDJ_Kai_Song_setting_up_in_the_DUMBO_Archway.jpg)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The DUMBO Arts Center was founded by Joy Glidden and under her direction from 1997–2006 has helped to establish a successful model for waterfront development that has been referred to and used internationally
The other day, I took a tour of Etsy's Dumbo offices and was pleased to find them as original, wacky, and one-of-a-kind as a workplace can get.
{{cite news}}:|author= has generic name (help)When he laments not investing in the now-redeveloped Brooklyn neighborhood Dumbo on "The Story of O. J.," it's not clever, just a gripe. And one delivered without much flair.
On this track, the rapper bemoans rising real estate values in his home city
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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