Congress Square Park

The park was built in 1982 with an urban development grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.^[3][4] Starting in 2012, the city, led by Mayor Michael F. Brennan and City Manager Jon Jennings, sought to sell the park to a private equity firm Rockbridge Capital, which was renovating the adjacent hotel. Rockbridge sought to build a single story event center over most of the park. However, residents (led by the Friends of Congress Square Park) drafted an ordinance which sought to prevent the sale until a vote could occur. After collecting a sufficient number of signatures, the sale was postponed until after a June 2014 referendum.^[5] In that election, voters endorsed their initiative, which prevented the sale of the public and added protections to the further sale of public spaces.^[6]

Since 2013, the Friends of Congress Square Park has organized events, raised funds on behalf of, and maintained the park.^[7] In 2018, the city received a $33,000 grant for a public art project in the park.^[8]

Media related to Congress Square Park at Wikimedia Commons

• Congress Square Park portlandmaine.gov
• Friends of Congress Square Park