Oppenheimer Park is located in the Downtown Eastside

Downtown Eastside

The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....

 of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Opened in 1902 as the Powell Street Grounds by Vancouver's second mayor, David Oppenheimer

David Oppenheimer

David Oppenheimer was a successful entrepreneur, the second mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, and a National Historic Person of Canada.-Early life:...

; it was later renamed in honour of the mayor. The park is bounded by Jackson Street, Dunlevy Street, Powell Street, and East Cordova. Oppenheimer Park's facilities include a softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 field, a basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 court, a children's playground

Playground

A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...

, and a community center with bathrooms, meeting space, and public computer access. The park employs two full-time activity coordinators and several part-time staff.

The Asahi baseball team used Oppenheimer Park as its home field prior to World War II, although it is most notable historically as being the site of one of the large demonstrations of striking workers during the events of Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday (1938)

Bloody Sunday was the conclusion of a month-long "sitdowners' strike" by unemployed men at the main post office in Vancouver, British Columbia...

 in 1938. The park remained a popular family destination until the late 1980s when crack cocaine

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...

 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.

Vancouver's longest running community celebration, the annual Powell Street Festival

Powell Street Festival

The Powell Street Festival is an ongoing annual festival in Japantown, Vancouver. Originating in 1977 the Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival and the longest ongoing community event in Vancouver...

takes place in and around Oppenheimer Park.