If you ever get lost in Brooklyn, this manhole cover will help you find your way home. It is located on the street level by the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.So have you ever gotten lost?
Update: There were numerous questions on DUMBO in the comments so I'm posting the answer here. DUMBO is short for District Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, which is a fancy word to say it's under the bridge, folks! It's a newly coined neighborhood on the Brooklyn waterfront. The word, I think, was created by real estate companies to create a buzz for an otherwise, unpleasant sounding part of town. Imagine telling a potential client, "I have a beautiful property under the Manhattan Bridge I would like to show you" vs. "I have a beautiful property in a hip new neighborhood in Brooklyn called, DUMBO!"
Other acronyms you will find in NYC are: SoHo (South of Houston Street), NoHo (North of Houston Street), TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal Street), and NoLIta (North of Little Italy).
25 comments:
All of the time!! I'm lucky I live in the part of NYC that's a grid. Whew!
elle est superbe cette "boussole" de brooklyn.
it is superb this "compass" of Brooklyn.
I've been told to get lost several times.
i 'd like to have this kind of directional manhole cover in my town , clever ;)
Dumbo??? That's a real destination? Only in Brooklyn :)
Yes, I got lost once in Hawaii's Volcano NP. Long story, longer night. Happy to see US Park Rangers in the morning!
New Yorkers think of everything:)
Well sometimes, but I am not afraid to stop and ask directions. I am wondering about the Dumbos that go North! HA
V
That's a very helpful manhole cover. What is "Dumbo?" Is it really a place there?
Thanks for the heads up on Dumbo! I never knew what SoHo and Tribeca meant either. Learn something every day.
V
Went to school in Brooklyn. I know better than to ask for directions.
I like manholes. This is a really good one.
Well that clears up the DUMBO question :) I'm certain Walt Disney is pleased to have a character residing under the famous bridge -:)
I love when real estate people make up names for areas. A while ago they were trying to call Inwood "NoMa" (for Northern Manhattan). We told them to take their made up nickname and get back downtown.
Once in Brooklyn I discovered I was in an area called BoCoCa. What the heck's that, I wondered? The locals had no idea either. Apparently it was a real estate moniker for Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens.
I love going to Dumbo.
DUMBO does sound a cool place! I've always wondered what NoHo meant, and now I know!
You can always be relied on to explain a mystery, Ming!
Very cool.
Thanks for the names info...I just love TriBeCa - what a great name.
Hey, how about the newest...MEPA (MEAT PACKING DISTRICT)...love the pic, wish they had these in the city as well, always get turned around when i come out of the subway station.
I don't understand. Manhole covers are circular. So what keeps the cover always in proper orientation? Couldn't a bored city worker put the cover back in the wrong orientation, say 180 degrees off, sending people in the wrong direction? Who would know?
Also confused, here in the San Francisco area, Dumbo refers to the Dumbarton Bridge. When I lived in NYC, back in the previous century, there was only SoHo. Which had a echo of the district in central London, equally seedy.
But Dumbo in NY never seemed right. Still doesn't.
This is fascinating. I love manhole covers - you see such interesting ones and this is perfect.
They're trying to coin the term SoHa, where I live. Can you guess where that is?
SoHa -- South of Harlem. LOL! I get a kick out of that. I can't believe they're actually trying to do that.
Paz
Ming -- Actually, I think it stands for DOWN Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass, but whatever—this is a great picture. Do you think maybe we've overdone the whole cute name business?
I lost my moral compass once. Does that count?
I used to get lost in those winding streets in the West Village, but now I use Google maps app on my iPhone.
Another acronym....MEPA for the Meat Packing district.
Not only Singapore that's full of acronyms! hehe..
Tribeca sounds so nice! LOL
Alexa is correct about what Dumbo means, but the name wasn't coined by a real estate developer. In fact, Dumbo was named by Crane Davis, a writer and producer who lived on Washington Street.
You can read about the naming of Dumbo here: How Dumbo Got Its Name and What It Was Almost Called
Blather From Brooklyn
I don't mind getting lost while driving as I always end up learning about a new street or shortcut.
Thanks for sharing the acronyms! Never know what they meant till now! Thanks!!!
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