DUMBO
Nineteenth-century waterfront factories reimagined as a dramatic design, theatre, and park district.
Coined in 1978 by pioneer loft artists hoping an unglamorous acronym ("Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass") would keep landlords away, DUMBO occupies one of the most dramatic urban footprints on earth. Between the granite towers of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, nineteenth-century cardboard box factories and Civil War-era coffee warehouses with embedded rail tracks now house avant-garde theaters, independent art-book publishers, and the eighty-five-acre waterfront ribbon of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Must-Visit Spots
Washington & Water Street Vista
The iconic cobblestone canyon where red-brick warehouse facades frame the Manhattan Bridge tower with the Empire State Building inside its arch.
Washington St & Water St
York St (F)
St. Ann’s Warehouse
World-class international theater staged inside a restored 1860 brick tobacco warehouse alongside an open-air walled triangle garden.
45 Water St
High St (A/C) or York St (F)
Empire Stores 5th-Floor Terrace
Ride the public elevator inside an 1869 coffee warehouse straight up to a free rooftop viewpoint looking directly into both bridges and Lower Manhattan.
55 Water St
York St (F) or High St (A/C)
The PowerHouse Arena
Independent art-book publisher, photography gallery, and amphitheater bookstore with soaring 24-foot ceilings.
28 Adams St
York St (F)
Jane’s Carousel & Pebble Beach
A painstakingly restored 48-horse 1922 carousel spinning inside a jewel-box glass pavilion by Pritzker Prize architect Jean Nouvel.
Dock St & Brooklyn Bridge Park
High St (A/C) or Clark St (2/3)
Juliana’s Pizza
Founded by late pizza legend Patsy Grimaldi right at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, turning out blistered coal-fired pies.
19 Old Fulton St
High St (A/C) or Fulton Ferry Landing
Stories from DUMBO
Beneath the Manhattan Bridge: DUMBO’s Transition from Cargo Depot to Design Haven
Framed by the granite towers of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, DUMBO pairs Belgian-block cobblestones and independent bookshops with New York’s most cinematic waterfront park.
Deals in DUMBO
All deals →Free Kayaking Under the Brooklyn Bridge at Pier 2
Paddle a sit-on-top kayak in the sheltered East River embayment at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2 with dramatic views of the Lower Manhattan skyline—100% free via Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse.