Williamsburg

Warehouses, rooftops and Manhattan views

BrooklynBrooklyn

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The vibe

Just across the East River, Williamsburg turned its warehouses into music venues, its factories into apartments and its waterfront into parks with an unbeatable view of Manhattan. Bedford Avenue is lined with thrift shops, record stores and cafés; further south, the Hasidic neighbourhood is a reminder that Williamsburg has always been several worlds at once.

Good to know

Domino Park on the waterfront at sunset: the view of the Williamsburg Bridge and Midtown beats any paid rooftop.

When to go

Weekends in the warmer months, for the food markets and the waterfront. At sunset, when Manhattan lights up across the water.

Getting there

L train to Bedford Av; J, M and Z trains to Marcy Av; NYC Ferry to North Williamsburg and South Williamsburg.

The story

How the neighbourhood came to be

An independent city, Williamsburgh was absorbed into Brooklyn in 1855, before Brooklyn joined New York in 1898. The Williamsburg Bridge, opened in 1903, brought families over from the Lower East Side; breweries and sugar refineries kept the waterfront busy. Once deindustrialized, the neighbourhood became a refuge in the 1990s for artists priced out of Manhattan, then one of the symbols of Brooklyn's transformation.

Did you know?

1When it opened in 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a record it held until 1924.
2The Domino refinery, whose sign still towers over the waterfront, refined more than half the sugar consumed in the United States in the 19th century; it closed in 2004.
3The Smorgasburg food market was born in Williamsburg in 2011, on the East River waterfront.

Resources

Useful links

smorgasburg.com

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