DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass is a neighborhood in the New York City, New York borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections; one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another which continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area.
Until the 1890s, the western portion of neighborhood was known as Fulton Landing, after the water-ferry stop that connected it to Manhattan before the Brooklyn Bridge opened. Then primarily a manufacturing district housing factories that made machinery, paper boxes and Brillo soap pads, it began becoming primarily residential when artists and other young homesteaders, seeking relatively large and inexpensive loft apartment spaces for studios and homes, began moving there in the late 1970s. The acronym DUMBO arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers. Near the end of the 20th century, as property became more and more valuable in Manhattan, DUMBO became increasingly gentrified.
Until the 1890s, the western portion of neighborhood was known as Fulton Landing, after the water-ferry stop that connected it to Manhattan before the Brooklyn Bridge opened. Then primarily a manufacturing district housing factories that made machinery, paper boxes and Brillo soap pads, it began becoming primarily residential when artists and other young homesteaders, seeking relatively large and inexpensive loft apartment spaces for studios and homes, began moving there in the late 1970s. The acronym DUMBO arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers. Near the end of the 20th century, as property became more and more valuable in Manhattan, DUMBO became increasingly gentrified.
