DUMBO soars in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn industrial district known as DUMBO has been named New York's 90th historic district.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission this week voted unanimously to award the designation. In a press release, commission head Robert Tierney said:

"DUMBO was essential to Brooklyn’s rise as a major manufacturing center, and was home to some of America’s most important industrial firms that produced everything from ale and paper boxes to soap and steel wool. DUMBO’s distinctively designed buildings and sublime vistas survive to this day, and still define its character, even as it has evolved into a largely residential neighborhood.

" ... Almost all of the industrial buildings in the historic district date from between 1880 and 1920, a period of explosive growth of Brooklyn’s manufacturing sector. "

The district is bounded by John Street to the north, Bridge Street to the east, York Street to the south and Main Street to the west. If you're wondering what the acronym DUMBO stands for, it's "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass."

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ON THE WEB
• DUMBO street scenes.
• Manhattan Bridge.
• Brooklyn neighborhoods list.
• All About Brooklyn.

Sleep with the fishes in 7-star digs

For years, William Shatner has been telling us the travel service he shills for can get us 3-star hotel accommodations for 1-star prices, sometimes 4-star rooms for 2-star dollars.

I wonder how much he can knock off the price of the world's latest -- and perhaps first -- 7-star hotel?

It's the Hydropolis Dubai, being promoted as one of the world's most extravagant tourist attractions and scheduled to open later this month inthe Arab emirate.

The sprawling, almost surreal facility is an underwater luxury hotel in the middle of desert land. Getting there is half the fun, and amazement factor.

The facility is divided into three section:

• The land station: This large building has a rolling, wavy roof. Visitors enter it to head toward the tunnel.

• The tunnel: 1,700 feet long, it and carries a train beneath both land and sea to the hotel. it is shaped like a collection of bubbles and curves designed to provide maximum resistance against sea water pressure as well as the typhoons known to occasionally hit the region. It features area two observation domes which allow views of the water and marine creatures.

• The hotel: The facility looks like a circular atoll, wirh a low barrier between it and the water. The main structures are designed to mimick natural forms with curving shell-like surfaces mimicking natural forms.

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ON THE WEB
• Underwater video of the project
• Dubai city guide
• All about Dubai
• Dubai International Airport
• Dowd's Guides