Manhattan Bridge Arch to be Redesigned as a Pedestrian Thoroughfare

The DUMBO Improvement District (DID) is looking to couple the restoration and activation of Pearl Street Triangle with the reopening of the Manhattan Bridge Arch on Water Street, Brooklyn as a pedestrian walkway. The Archway is a 7,000 SF tunnel under the Manhattan Bridge, paved with historic Belgian block and boasting 45′ height.

As the neighborhood functions now, the Manhattan Bridge splits DUMBO into two distinct areas creating East and West sides of the neighborhood with very poor pedestrian connections between them. The reopening of the Manhattan Bridge Arch would present a unique pedestrian connection between the two sides of the neighborhood, with limited security risk to the Bridge by prohibiting vehicular traffic.

The Archway was closed for 17 years and used as a New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) facility for storing scrap metal. After years of advocacy, from the DUMBO Improvement District, DOT returned The Archway to the public, and into the care of DID. With Rogers Marvel Architects, the structure is now being upgraded.

100 years ago, the opening of the Manhattan Bridge expanded commerce and culture. Today, we are creating a new program for an old bridge.

The Dumbo Improvement District has secured approximately $200,000 in in-kind contributions from private partners, Pearl Realty, Two Trees Management and Sciame Construction, and worked with DOT to bring the project to bring The Archway back to the public domain.

Working with Rogers Marvel Architects and Jim Conti Lighting Design, the Dumbo Improvement District’s vision for the space includes lighting to highlight the graceful vaulted ceiling and provide adequate walkway lighting, benches that incorporate the existing remaining storage brackets, and exposed Belgian blocks that form The Archway’s base. Rogers Marvel’s design takes a minimalist approach by using existing materials at the site while emphasizing the simple beauty of the structure.