Paul Thorpe, the man affectionately known as “Mr. Downtown”, passed away on Thursday, August 24th. Paul earned his nickname by spending much of his adult life passionately working to improve and revitalize Downtown Sarasota into the cultural and economic haven that it is today. You can see a short outline of his contributions here.

Earlier this year, the City of Sarasota renamed Pineapple Park to Paul N. Thorpe Jr. Park. The park will permanently bear Mr. Downtown’s name, in honor of all the hard work he put into the city he loved. Rest in peace, Paul.