DUMBO

Description

Essentials about Dumbo in brief

Dumbo is one of the hippest and trendiest neighborhoods in New York City. If you have a little time, you should definitely take a walk through the neighborhood with its so charming artistic-industrial flair. Dumbo owes its appeal to a number of factors: the great location on the East River, right at the beginning of beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park and with a view of the Manhattan skyline; the interesting industrial architecture of steel and brick buildings; the artistic touch with many exciting art galleries; and the many good cafés and restaurants that have settled here.

The location of Dumbo

As is so often the case in New York City, this somewhat odd-sounding name derives from the neighborhood’s location: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. The small neighborhood is located directly across from Downtown Manhattan on the East River and stretches from Brooklyn Bridge past/under Manhattan Bridge to Vinegar Hill. Dumbo is dominated by the mighty ramps leading up to the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

The history of Dumbo

In the late 19th century, Dumbo developed into one of New York City’s most important industrial and commercial areas. Breweries, coffee roasters, machine and sugar factories, shoe and paper manufacturers were once located here. As Brooklyn deindustrialized, many of the old industrial and commercial buildings stood empty in the mid-20th century. In the late 1970s, artists and young people began to settle in Dumbo because prices for apartments and studios here were much lower than in adjacent areas. They transformed the old industrial buildings into stylish artist lofts.

At the end of the 20th century, increasing gentrification began in Dumbo due to the growing attractiveness of the neighborhood. Higher-income earners moved in, new residential buildings were built, and some old factories were converted into luxury apartment buildings. Since 2007, Dumbo has been one of New York City’s Historic Districts. Railroad tracks from Brooklyn’s industrialization era still exist on some streets, and in some places they even lead into the buildings. Many streets and sidewalks still consist of the original large stone paving with granite stones. This streetscape adds to the industrial character of the neighborhood. Most of the historic buildings are now used as residential or office buildings, with only a very small portion still in industrial/commercial use.