DUMBO Historic District

Located on the East River in Brooklyn, the buildings in this district form a unique streetscape. It is New York City's most historically and architecturally significant industrial neighborhood, and represents the material legacy of manufacturing and commerce in nineteenth-century Brooklyn.

The buildings represent the prevalent evolution in industrial architecture from the decades following the Civil War until the early twentieth century. Many of the earliest buildings in the area, dating from the 1860s through the 1890s, possess symmetrical brick facades and simple fenestration. Internally, these buildings feature substantial wooden columns, joists, and studs. Later in the century, steel frames and terra cotta tiles were increasingly used for improved fire resistance. Robert Gair's factory complex, begun at 41-49 Washington Street in 1904 and eventually expanded to include much of the neighborhood, exemplifies the twentieth century reinforced concrete factory style. A number of the non-factory buildings in the neighborhood also relate to the industrial heritage, including former workers' tenements at 100 and 104 Front Street.

The neighborhood's name, DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, was acquired during the 1970s, when artists converted the industrial structures to lofts. The DUMBO neighborhood, so defined by its industrial architecture, is nearly exclusively residential and commercial today. ©2014