The prestige that is reborn from the past

Published: 2009 - February/March, Cultural and Artistic Paths

In the background of over two kilometers of steel in which the Manhattan Bridge connects Brooklyn to the east bank of the island of Manhattan, up at Canal Street, there is an area of development which in the 1970’s has had the picturesque name of Dumbo, fruit of the imagination of the artists that moved Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass in search of large spaces where they could create.
Today Dumbo is home to lofts, offices, galleries and art workshops, but the streets and buildings reveal a prestigious industrial past. The importance of Dumbo has not passed unobserved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission − the agency created in 1965 following the discussed demolition of Pennsylvania Station with the objective of safeguarding sites and buildings of historical, cultural and architectural interest in the city of New York, the ‘landmarks’ − which has officially recognized the historic value of the area bordering John, York, Main and Bridge Street, putting it under protection.
There, by the deep waters of the East River, with easy access for the ships that transported materials and finished products, the first important buildings were concentrated. Amongst the pioneers, the Scot Robert Gair who, at the end of 1800, following the example of his friend John Arbuckle, coffee magnate, left Manhattan and transfered his paper mill to Dumbo. Other big manufacturing businesses followed Gair attracted by the strategic position and the enormous potential for development in the area, making Brooklyn, then independent from New York City, one of the main productive points in the United States after New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Dumbo today represents one of the best examples of industrial architecture of its time. On the streets, which show traces of the original granite cobblestones, known as ’Belgian block’, ex factories and warehouses dating from the end of the 19th century, characterized by straight stone facades and tall, narrow windows, alternate with austere concrete buildings with large openings able to overcome the problems of light and ventilation. After introducing to the area in 1904, this innovative building material with the construction of his new factory at 41 - 49 Washington Street, the unstoppable Gair carried on in the following years with the creation of his property empire known as ‘Gairville’. Gair brought about a decisive change in the architecture of Dumbo, with the ’industrial neoclassic’ style associated with the architect William Higginson. These buildings housed the manufacture of folding cardboard boxes which revolutionized the packaging of foodstuffs, starting with the National Biscuit Company, one of The Robert Gair Company’s first clients. The success enjoyed by Gair was repeated by other entrepreneurs such as James and John Hanan and Alexander Kirkman involved in the production on footwear and soap respectively. Others created products still on the market today: Arbuckle coffee and the Brillo steel wool pads made by the Brillo Manufacturing Company in response to the effects of coal ovens on the increasingly popular steel pans and which Andy Warhol gained inspiration for his sculpture ’Brillo Box’.
When, in the 1930’s, the factories moved elsewhere, the spacious buildings were turned into storehouses and the Jay Street Connecting railroad, the railway built by the Arbuckle Brothers to transport goods from the docks at the east River to the businesses, was put to rest. The original train tracks can still surprise visitors today, a testimony to the industrial fervor that penetrated Dumbo cutting across the streets of the neighborhood and then disappearing under the shutters of the old factories. During the early 1980’s a strong desire for revival was born in the area, led by the entrepreneur David Walentas who began with eleven properties destined to be gradually converted into offices and luxury apartments. Amongst these, the Clock Tower Building, one of the historic symbols of the industrial district. A convinced supporter of the idea that a lively artistic community can play a major role in the attractiveness of a neighborhood, Walentas encouraged artists and cultural associations to move to Dumbo, offering incentives and rent controlled properties. The authorities seem to be moving in the same direction and they have recently announced the long awaited reopening, after two decades, of the tunnel that crosses the imposing pillar on Manhattan Bridge at Water Street. When it is finished, nearly 800 square meters will become a pedestrian zone, as well as in the opinion of the president of the Brooklyn neighborhood, Marty Markowitz, an evocative home to events and exhibitions. After years in which the lights of Dumbo seem to have been turned out, the neighborhood has finally found its original vitality and seems to be destined to be talked about once more.