Stop. Look around. If you're on Washington Street and you look north, you'll see one of the most photographed views in the world. The Manhattan Bridge framed between two rows of old brick warehouses, with the Empire State Building visible through the arch. People fly to New York for this photo. They line up daily. At golden hour, there's basically a queue.
The view was an accident. These warehouses were built in the eighteen hundreds to store coffee and paper. The Manhattan Bridge opened in nineteen oh-nine. Nobody designed this as a photo opportunity. It just happened. Like most good things in this neighborhood.
Speaking of which — this neighborhood is called DUMBO. It stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. And that name was chosen on purpose to be as stupid as possible.
In nineteen seventy-eight, a bunch of artists living in these warehouses — paying almost nothing for massive industrial lofts — got together and decided they needed a neighborhood name. Something offi
cial. They considered DANYA — District Around the Navy Yard Annex. Reasonable. Professional.
They went with DUMBO. On purpose. The plan was to make the neighborhood sound so ridiculous that no real estate developer would ever want to market it. One artist reportedly also suggested STUPID — Standing Under The Underpass, Pretty Idiotic Designation. It didn't catch on. But the point was clear. Make
