With the final performance of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s iconic traveling shows headed for its grand finale this week, the age-old fantasy of running off to join the circus may one day fade into the annals of pop culture history.
(Susan Green)
But, there’s nothing to stop you from enjoying all manner of circus lore. You’ll find it at The Ringling in Sarasota, about 60 miles south of Tampa. Indeed, you’ll find much more than circus artifacts at this attraction. For those who enjoy art, history and an exemplary tale of rags to riches, The Ringling has it all.
The 66-acre site lures more than 400,000 visitors each year, who travel from across the United States and from other countries, too, said Alice Murphy, spokeswoman for The Ringling.
They come to see the legacy of John Ringling, one of the sibling founders of the Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows, who built a grand winter home and an art museum on the grounds now occupied by The Ringling complex.
Ringling rose from humble beginnings in the Midwest and went on to help develop the largest circus in the nation after he and his brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth in the early 1900s.
Though the museums on the Sarasota property are not affiliated with today’s Ringling circus, the collections of circus memorabilia and exhibits housed there have benefited from the largess of donors ranging from former circus performers to devoted fans. As remarkable as those collections are, however, they are not the attraction’s biggest draw.
That distinction falls to the house that Ringling’s circus revenues built – the opulent waterfront mansion Cà d’Zan, said Ron McCarty, curator of the grand home.
“I think that most people enjoy history, and everyone loves the idea of wealth,” McCarty said.
“It’s the largest mansion on the west coast of Florida that’s a period building. … Cà d’Zan is a national treasure.”
Built in 1926 by Ringling and his wife, Mable, the five-story, 56-room abode was modeled after the grand palazzo-style homes of Venice, Italy, which the couple admired during trips to Europe to scout for new circus acts.
The stucco and terra cotta façade — generously embellished with decorative tile, plus a marble terrace that stretches for more than 200 feet along Sarasota Bay — provides a glimpse into life for the wealthiest Americans during the Roaring ’20s.
Inside, there are gilded ceilings inset with paintings, rare antiques, fine art and an ornate crystal chandelier that once hung in the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The chandelier is the focal point of an indoor courtyard where the Ringlings often entertained the celebrities of their time.
Hidden behind tapestries is a 2,289-pipe organ that stands two stories high and was custom-made for the house by the Aeolian Co.
Circus curios galore
Elsewhere on the grounds are two museums that showcase the glitter and derring-do that have long thrilled audiences under the Big Top, as well as the traveling lifestyle of performers, laborers and show executives.
John Ringling’s luxury train car is on display, as well as the colorful calliope wagon, clown cars and circus parade animal cages that ballyhooed the show’s arrival and summoned spectators when the event pulled into town.
Visitors at The Ringling can see the original famous piece of artillery that shot “human cannonball” performers from the Zacchini family through the air and across the circus tent to land in a net.
Many of those echoes of yesteryear have been replicated in the lifelike miniature carvings of Howard Tibbals, who spent much of his life painstakingly creating a sprawling scale model of all aspects of the circus.
He donated his collection of more than 44,000 tiny figures to The Ringling in 2007, where it occupies 3,800 square feet of the Howard Tibbals Learning Center.
John Ringling, who died in 1936, bequeathed the estate’s mansion and art museum to the state, and that was only part of his gift to Florida’s Gulf Coast residents and tourists, McCarty said. Ringling also founded what became the Ringling College of Art and Design.
And, for 30 years, his circus held open rehearsals at a site not far from The Ringling.
“It was the biggest attraction in Florida,” said McCarty, estimating that it remained one of the most popular tourist sites in the state from the late 1920s into the 1950s. “It’s unbelievable what he [John Ringling] did for this community.”
The Ringling
Where: 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
When: Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, excluding major holidays
Cost: $25 for adults; $23 for seniors; $5 for children, 6 through 17; free for children 5 and under. (Check website for available discounts)
Parking: Free
Details: Circus artifacts, a luxurious mansion and an art museum are some of the highlights of The Ringling. Food and gifts also are available at the attraction.
Information: Call (941) 359-5700, or visit Ringling.org.
By Susan Green
Published May 17, 2017
