Love. Live & Work in this Community. Gillespie Park is a unique, front-porch community graced with both historic homes and new construction. It is the only downtown neighborhood with a 10 acre Park that includes dog park, scenic pond, gorgeous trees, tennis Court, Pickle Ball court, basket ball court and a playground. Living in this neighborhood easily allows for enjoyable walks to downtown Sarasota- so whether you’re strolling to whole foods or the farmers market on a Saturday morning, enjoying an evening at world-class restaurant, admiring the sunset sky over the Bayfront, or visiting the neighboring vibrant Rosemary district, the best of this city is right at your door step.
Gillespie Park honors John Hamilton Gillespie, first mayor of Sarasota. The Stottish-born aristocrat arrived in 1886 as agent for his father, Sir John Hamilton Gillespie of Edinburgh, a principal in Florida Mortgage and Investment Co., which filed the Town of Sarasota plat in 1886. This land was part of the town’s experimental farm. Gillespie laid out a golf course in 1886. He worked to fund dredging of a Sarasota Bay channel in 1888, and built a hotel on Main Street. When Sarasota was incorporated in 1902, Gillespie was elected Mayor. He died in 1923 and was buried in the town’s Rosemary Cemetery.
Gillespie Park Subdivision was platted in 1917 adjacent to this area. In 1924 Sarasota Developed Own Burns sold the parcel to the city for a park. During the Florida land boom, a $75,000 bond issue funded development of lawn bowling, tennis courts and a playground which in 1925, won a national beautification award. The park supported a natural history museum, Brumby Lake, a lakeside walkway, and footbridge. In 1977, a Gallery of Patriots installed in the park’s northeast corner featured such Western Hemisphere leaders as Abraham Lincoln, Jose Marti, Simon Bolivar and Ingacio Agramonte.