Oppenheimer Park — Attraction in Vancouver

It would be a lot better without all the garbage that constantly litters the whole park.

Edit: In response to the reviewers who said there was a lot of drug use in the park and used needles lying around - Not True. Sorry guys, I have lived across the street from the park for the past two years, walking through it at least twice per day, and I have never seen any drug use in the park or any needles or other paraphanalia lying around. No crack or crystal meth use either. You don't have to go far to find any of that stuff (less than a block in the case of crack), but it's just not in the park, in any significant amount.

Oppenheimer (AKA Openbottle) Park is a drinking park. I regularly see people gathered there getting sh!tfaced on the park benches with chairs from the little community centre pulled round to squeeze more drinkers in.

Edit: I read more reviews and found a lot more alternative facts. Here are some responses:

The baseball diamond is never occupied by tenters - not in the past two years. And again, there are no used syringes lying around.

I know a lot of people in this neighbourhood, and I've never heard of anyone getting robbed in the park.

There has never been a daycare or petting zoo in the park. There's no waterpark - you're thinking of McLean Park.

It's not a "tent city". There was one here in 2014, but that is long gone. There are tents here from time to time, but they tend to be few in number and have short stays. As I write this I can see that there are no tents in the park.

It does not have a high rate of open drug use, it has very little open drug use. (I know people shoot up there because I see sanitary wipes etc., but the needle sweepers do an excellent job. I never see syringes, and believe me I keep my eyes open for them. Constantly.)

It's not a good place to find stolen property, Richard Trus. You're thinking of the north side of East Hastings Street between Main and Dunlevy Streets. And again, there are no needles, etc. Take note, darcy punton.

It's kid-friendly - I've taken my kids with zero problems. (Do I bring them here often? No. McLean Park is far more kid-friendly.)

Louis Apple, it's not dangerous. I have walked through there at all hours of the day and night over the past two years with not so much as someone looking at me funny.

Derrol Walstrom, I don't know what you've been smoking, but there's no "good crack" in the park. You're thinking of the 500 blocks of Jackson and Dunlevy Sts., and E. Hastings St. between Dunlevy and Abbot Sts.

To sum up: the park is bad, but it's not that bad. I'm surprised no one mentioned the hookers (also near...

Oppenheimer Park has a long and storied history.  The park was opened in 1902 and named Powell Street Grounds.  Then later it was re-named after the second mayor of Vancouver, David Oppenheimer.  The community around the park was called Japantown because of the high concentration of Japanese immigrants who lived and worked in the area.  Japantown is also part of a larger community called the Downtown East Side (DTES).  Which was basically the first part of Vancouver to be settled in the 1800's because it's right beside the Vancouver Harbour.

At first the park was used mainly for sporting functions and then over the years this role changed dramatically. During the 1930's depression, large groups of unemployed workers held protests here.  Starting in the 1990's the DTES became home to a large homeless population with many addiction issues.  Homeless tent cities popped up in the park with as many as 300 people living here.  The park was closed during the Covid Pandemic because of the tent cities.  Indigenous people have also gathered at the park on many occasions in order to have their voices heard.

I came here to attend the Powell Street Festival because it's a celebration of Japanese culture.  It's a very chill event and it's nice to just walk around the community and check out the scene and take a few pictures.  Photographically speaking, it's a very interesting area because of the historic buildings and unique cultural vibe. I also feel that Japanese people get photography. Most of the major camera manufactures are based in Japan, which is very impressive.

The Powell Street Festival is a two day event and when I was there the big draw was Sumo Wrestling.  It seemed to be very popular.  I needed to arrive a lot earlier in order to get a good spot to see the event, tho.  The festival also spilled down a few side streets around the park where there were lots of food vendors and a stage with live entertainment.

Every community seems to need a large open public space like Oppenheimer Park, in order to accommodate events like the Powell Street Festival, or any other large gathering of people.  People like to gather, they need too.  We are social creatures.  When we are happy or sad, we instinctively gather.  It gives us perspective, direction, and a voice.  Hopefully this park will be able to remain open for all members of the community so that they can continue to gather...

I've been here once in April, and this is one of the most pitiful sights I've seen. I agree that many of these people aren't bad people per se, they're just in an unfortunate stage in life. Doing nothing isn't the right option, and neither is simply evicting everyone and leaving them to fend for themselves again. There is one other option that can house these unfortunate people, and clean up the area.

If there's one thing our city could do to help house as many people in the shortest and for a low cost, we need Soviet style apartments. Yes, they are quite ugly and non permanent, but they are cheap and easy enough to build quickly and last long enough for a few decades until better quality housing programs could be available. There's plenty of undeveloped land towards the eastern end of the Lower Mainland, the government could build en masse large amounts of these Soviet style apartment complexes, and rent them out at extremely low prices so that even these people can afford them. This would also create new jobs, so it would be good for everyone. Yes, I know that Soviet style apartments weren't designed to be permanent residences, but they'll last a good half a century or more, by which time there should've been more than enough time for the government to find better quality permanent housing to replace them. At least with the Soviet style apartments they are quick and cheap to build, so the homeless can have a home quickly where they can live for a...