About DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge Park
DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, a name coined in 1978 by residents who bet that something so ugly would scare off developers. It didn't. The coffee, sugar and soap warehouses became offices and shops, and it was in a building on Washington Street that the cardboard box was invented. At the corner of Washington and Water streets, the Manhattan Bridge appears framed by the buildings.
On the waterfront, Brooklyn Bridge Park covers about 85 acres (34 hectares) of former cargo piers. Jane's Carousel, from 1922, spins here in a pavilion designed by architect Jean Nouvel. In the late afternoon, the lawns become bleachers for watching the sun set behind Manhattan.
