From Industrial Waterfront to DUMBO: How the Neighborhood Was Made

In 1978, artists named their Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood “DUMBO” in an attempt to deter gentrification, but the effort ultimately failed. After developer David Walentas began purchasing large amounts of property in the early 1980s, the former industrial area gradually transformed, particularly following a 1997 rezoning that allowed residential conversions. Once home to factories and later artists, DUMBO has since become a major tourist destination and one of New York City’s most expensive neighborhoods, shaped by strategic development and its preserved creative identity.