Secrets of DUMBO Brooklyn

DUMBO Brooklyn is one of the quickest evolving neighborhoods in New York City. DUMBO largely started out as a center for shipping and storage, and over the past two decades, thanks to rezoning and the Walentas family, transformed into one of the hippest and most desirable neighborhoods in NYC.

DUMBO stands for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”, and indeed, it’s dominated by expansive views of both the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. Its iconic views of the NYC skyline have made DUMBO a coveted spot for photographers. It’s common to see wedding photos, quinceaneras, engagements, modeling, and even professional business photos, being taken along the DUMBO shoreline.

Empire Store and TimeOut Market, as well as famous pizzerias like Julianna’s and Grimaldi’s have helped make DUMBO a destination for NYC shopping and NYC foodies. There is also a lot of NYC history in DUMBO.  Here are some DUMBO secrets you might have missed.

GAIR BUILDING

If you’re in DUMBO Brooklyn, you might see the word GAIR engraved onto several buildings. What does this mysterious word mean? Well, let’s travel back in time to 1839, that’s the year a Scottish immigrant came to the United States and entered the corrugated cardboard industry. In fact, he became one of the world’s finest manufacturers of corrugated cardboard. He would go on to accidentally create the folding paperboard box. To make his product even fancier, he added a printing press to his factories that would allow his clients to place the name of their business on the packaging, which was revolutionary for his time. His company outgrew Manhattan and moved to DUMBO Brooklyn, where they eventually make boxes for companies such as Kelloggs.  This was the factory of Robert Gair. So when you see “Gair” in DUMBO Brooklyn, remember not all NYC heroes wear capes, some come from Scotland and make cardboard.

TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

St. Ann’s Warehouse used to be a Tobacco Warehouse. In fact, ⅔ of all Tobacco entering the United States came through and was inspected right here, and that’s just the start of its story. This warehouse was built in 1868 and was a five-story-tall tobacco inspection station. in 1901, it was transformed into a coffee warehouse. In 1946, the top three stories were taken off as a protective measure against fires. In 1990, the building was acquired by the NY department of Parks and recreation and they…..let it deteriorate. AND despite the fact that it lost its top 3 floors to prevent fires, in 2000 it was struck by lightning and guess what…there was a fire. Fortunately the warehouse was eventually redesignated so that St. Ann’s Warehouse, an incredibly innovative performing arts institution, could be reconstructed, which brings us to today. See a show at St. Ann’s Warehouse and then eat delicious pizza at Julianna’s pizza.

STAR BOLTS

The Time Out Market in DUMBO Brooklyn is a favorite place in DUMBO to buy delicious food. Before it was serving up pancakes and pizza, this building was a cargo warehouse that stored things like molasses. The building itself was built in 1869 and what you are seeing are known as “Star Bolts’, and they’re common in brick buildings from that era. Due to how these buildings were constructed, the walls would sometimes begin to bulge, which just isn’t good. A mason would go in with star bolts, always along a floor line, and connect the exterior of a building to the interiors, and prevent the bulging. They are 100% functional and do not denote any sort of religion or nationality. Just a sign someone cared enough to protect the building.

Janes carousel

Jane’s Carousel is one of the most iconic symbols of DUMBO Brooklyn. Jane’s Carousel dates back to 1922.  Would you believe it was originally installed in a theme park in Youngstown, Ohio? That park closed forever in 1984, and the carousel was put up to auction, where it was bought for $385,000 by real estate developer David Walentas and his wife Jane. It took over 20 years, but each horse on the carousel was restored, and when I say restored, Jane Walentas, who was a former art director of Estee lauder, ensured they were restored with precision and style, doing a lot of the grunt work herself and even bringing in a specialist from Mercedes Benz. The glass case that surrounds the carousel was designed by a Pritzker Prize-winning architect named Jean-Nouvel. You can ride this superb Carousel Thursday through Sunday, and it costs just $3 a person.

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