Oppenheimer Park is a park located in the historic Japantown (Paueru-Gai) in

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History

The park was opened in 1902 as the Powell Street Grounds by Vancouver's second mayor, David Oppenheimer, whom it was later renamed in honour of. The park is bounded by Jackson and Dunlevy Avenues, and Powell and East Cordova Streets. The park's facilities include a

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

field, a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

hoop, a children's playground, and a community centre with bathrooms, meeting space, and public computer access. The park employs two full-time activity coordinators and several part-time staff. Historically, the park is most notable as being the site of one of the large demonstrations of striking workers during the events of

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

in 1938. The Asahi baseball team used the park as its home field prior to World War II. The park remained a popular middle-class family destination until the late 1980s, when crack cocaine trade and abuse began to dominate the park's usage. Since 2004, initiatives by the Vancouver Police and the Strathcona Business Improvement Association have attempted to return the park to its original image of safe recreation, with some success. The park was upgraded in 2010 with reconfiguration of the pathways and additions of a playground, a basketball hoop and a new field house.

Protests and occupations

First Nations protest, 2014

In July 2014, members of the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

community occupied Oppenheimer Park by creating a makeshift tent city, in protest of the city of Vancouver's attempt to evict homeless people that had been living in the park. Protesters cited the fact that Vancouver, including its parkland, is unceded First Nations' land and the B.C. Supreme Court decision in 2009, which stated that homeless persons are allowed to camp in a public park if no alternative shelters are available. The protesters and campers were given deadline to vacate the park on October 15, 2014 after injunction was granted to the

Vancouver Park Board The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established by sectio ...

to evict the protesters from the site. Over 100 tents remained at the park after the deadline, but the protesters and campers were removed from park and five people were arrested on October 16, 2014 for resisting to vacate the park.

Homeless encampment, 2020

During the late 2010s, it was the site of a large homeless encampment. The encampment was dismantled on May 9, 2020, and the park has since been fenced off, after a

ministerial order A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are usually imposed under the authority ...

was issued in response to the

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. The

initially planned for phased re-opening of the park, but has decided to close the park indefinitely due to repeated break-ins and vandalism to its park building. As of summer 2021, the park is beginning to re-open in phases.

Events

* Powell Street Festival — Vancouver's longest running community celebration * HomeGround Festival * Asahi Tribute Baseball game * Endless Summer Festival

References

External links

Oppenheimer Park
— City of Vancouver {{coord, 49.282675, N, 123.094254, W, display=title Parks in Vancouver Downtown Eastside Baseball venues in British Columbia Sports venues in Vancouver Festival venues in Canada