Named for its red clay soil and point of land curving into the East River, the Brooklyn neighborhood’s present is as complex as its history is storied.

The South Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook sits on a peninsula with a full frontal view of the Statue of Liberty. Home to artists, professionals and families, the neighborhood has retained a unique frontier-town vibe. Once a jumble of docks and home to dock workers, Red Hook was immortalized in the film On the Waterfront, starring the young Marlon Brando. By the mid- and late- 20th century, the neighborhood was an even tougher place, with the dock workers’ families being outnumbered by residents of the Red Hook Houses project, many of whom were unemployed. The area was rife with drugs and violence. In the 1990s TIME magazine named Red Hook one of the 10 worst neighborhoods in the U.S. (via PBS).

At the dawn of the 21st century, the entire city’s economic upswing brought promise to the waterfront neighborhood as artists and business start-ups took advantage of the area’s available loft space, attractive cobblestone streets and seaside views. One developer, Greg O’Connell, was, to a degree, responsible what has been called a Red Hook renaissance (via NYTimes). O’Connell bought and renovated buildings in the neighborhood when no one else wanted them, bringing in businesses, artists and professionals and establishing the seeds of a vibrant mixed-use community (via Center for an Urban Future).

In the past 5 years, the neighborhood’s fortunes have turned for the better, and the future looks bright. Restaurants—The Red Hook Lobster Pound answers lobster roll cravings with what is arguably the city’s best lobster roll—pubs, storefronts and cafes dot peaceful cobblestone streets. Community events like the the Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival invite visitors. A larger impact was made by the arrival of Fairway market and, more recently, Swedish furniture giant IKEA (which has also brought ferry service to and from Manhattan), though both have actually added to the neighborhood’s livability. Crime has dropped dramatically (PBS). The brakes may have been put on bubble-mentality development and an organic, sustainable level of growth—plus a big commercial push that has helped the neighborhood—makes Red Hook a top neighborhood choice.