Paul N. Thorpe Jr. Park

Paul N. Thorpe Jr. Park. . , No one in the past half century has been a champion of downtown Sarasota and contributed more to its successful revitalization and redevelopment than Paul N. Thorpe Jr., thereby earning him the nickname of “Mr. Downtown.” Born and raised in Germantown, PA. Paul, a graduate of Penn State, is very proud to be a veteran having served his country in active duty with the Navy in World War II. He moved to Sarasota in 1969 and began a business career in the downtown at a time when retailers were moving to the suburbs, leaving behind empty storefronts. In 1974, Paul along with a group of bankers and business owners met to work on a plan to make downtown more attractive to lure merchants and people back. This meeting resulted in the creation of the Downtown Association (DTA). In addition to being a co-founder of the DTA, he served as a longtime Board member, President and for 12 years as its Executive Director. Paul’s strategy was to create events which would bring people downtown. An early success was “Old Fashioned Days,” started in the late 1970s which enjoyed tremendous support from downtown merchants and encouraged people to return downtown. During his 28-year association with the DTA, Paul was instrumental in the creation of Bicentennial Park, now known as the Lemon Avenue Mall, the Saturday morning Downtown Farmers Market, a Downtown City Master Plan, a Rosemary District Master Plan, Shelby Five Points Park, downtown streetscape to provide shade trees and beautification, the King Neptune Festival, the City’s December Holiday Parade, the New Year’s Midnight Pineapple Drop, the 4th of July fireworks in Bayfront Park, the Suncoast Offshore Celebration, connecting Main Street and Ringling Boulevard to Bayfront Drive/U.S. 41, relocating the Selby Public Library downtown, bringing the Ritz Carlton Hotel to downtown redevelopment to municipalities statewide. Since retiring from the DTA in 2002, Paul continues to be involved in downtown events, offering his valuable insight and institutional knowledge. Thank you, Paul Thorpe, for a downtown where the crossroads of live, work and play have become a reality. The entire Sarasota community admires and respects this gentleman we know and love as “Mr. Downtown.” , , In honor of the renaming of Pineapple Park as the “Paul N. Thorpe Jr. Park,” in recognition for his commitment, hard work and leadership role in vitalizing, beautifying, promoting and protecting downtown Sarasota. , June 19, 2017 .