Kennedy Park is a neighborhood in downtown Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

. The neighborhood is part of Census Tract 5, the most diverse neighborhood in the state of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. While the White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

 population of Maine was 97% according to the 2000 census, the White population in Census Tract 5 was only 71%.

History

Kennedy Park was built in 1964-1965 as a public housing project to accommodate poor and low income residents of Portland. It is named after President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

. There are 160 rental units. At one time, the neighborhood was known for crime and drugs. However, in recent years, the police have reported significantly less crime in the area. From the 1980s onward, the neighborhood's demographic began changing; common ethnicities in 2001 were "Thai, Korean, Cambodian, Japanese, American, Somalian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Eritrean, Ethiopian etc..."

Location

Situated in the East Bayside

East Bayside (Portland, Maine)

East Bayside is a neighborhood in Portland, Maine. It was first developed a street network in the early 19th century. By the 1820s the area was Portland’s second seaport via the Back Cove’s ship channel. In 1840 the Union Railroad ran along the then shoreline of Back Cove, following approximately...

 neighborhood, Kennedy Park is close to Franklin Street

Franklin Street (Portland)

Franklin Street is a four-lane street in Portland, Maine. It began as Essex Street in the 18th century, but changed to Franklin Street by 1823. It is a major corridor for traffic from Interstate 295 to Portland's downtown, and to other neighborhoods located on the Portland peninsula.- History...

. Local schools are Portland High School

Portland High School, Portland, Maine

Portland High School is a public high school in Portland, Maine which educates grades 9–12. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools district....

 and East End Community School. Franklin Towers

Franklin Towers

Franklin Towers is a 16-story high-rise building located in Portland, Maine, at the corner of Franklin Street and Cumberland Avenue. At , it is the tallest building in the state of Maine, making Maine 48th out of the 50 states in terms of tallest building per state...

, Maine's tallest building, is located nearby as well.