Neighborhoods in Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester, the largest city in New Hampshire, is made up of 25 neighborhoods, according to the Manchester Planning Board in its 2010 master plan. Recognition of particular neighborhoods varies, with some having neighborhood associations, but none have any legal or political authority.

The major neighborhoods, historically, include Amoskeag, Rimmon Heights, Notre Dame/McGregorville and Piscataquog/Granite Square on the West Side; and the North End, Janeville/Corey Square, Hallsville and Bakersville on the East Side; along with Youngsville and Goffes Falls on the periphery of the city.

In 2007, the city began a Neighborhood Initiatives program to "insure that our neighborhoods are vibrant, livable areas since these are the portions of the city where most of the residents spend their time living, playing, shopping and going to school." The purpose of this initiative is to foster vibrancy and redevelopment in the neighborhoods, and to restore the sense of neighborhood communities that had been overlooked in the city for some time. The city began the program with street-scape and infrastructure improvements in the Rimmon Heights neighborhood of the West Side, which has spurred growth and investment in and by the community. Despite the success of the program in Rimmon Heights, it was unclear in recent years how similar programs would be implemented elsewhere in Manchester. The city announced plans for extending the Neighborhood Initiatives program to the Hollow neighborhood in February 2012.

Downtown Manchester is the historical, economic and cultural heart of the city, and a center of finance for the state. It is also the focal point for dining and nightlife in the greater Manchester area. Located along the east bank of the Merrimack River, Downtown consists of the downtown core centered along Elm Street between Bridge and Granite streets; the Millyard consisting of the former Amoskeag mills; the "NOB" (North of Bridge); and South Downtown between Granite Street and Queen City Avenue. Within these larger areas are smaller districts, such as the Gaslight and Warehouse districts in Downtown South, the Cultural District centered on the Victory Park Historic District in the Downtown Core, and the River's Edge in South Downtown.

Downtown suffered high vacancy rates following the closure of several downtown-based banks in the early 1990s. It has witnessed a resurgence in recent years, however, including the continual redevelopment of the Amoskeag Millyard and its residential Historic District, and the construction of the SNHU Arena and Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Intown Manchester, a non-profit management company was created in 1996 and contracted by the City to maintain, beautify, promote and improve Downtown.

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