Sarasota - Ringling Museum

On Valentine's Day, before we went out to dinner, Paul & Helen accompanied us to Sarasota to teh Ringling Museum. It is a combination of Circus memorabilia and the grounds of their bay-side estate.

The entry is beautiful but lacks a "drop-off" zone. When I picked up Theresa, Paul & Helen at the end of the day, a "gentleman" informed me (by yelling through his window) that this is not an area for picking people up.

The grounds are beautiful and are beautifully maintained.

As soon as you leave the visitor center, you see the Circus Museum (where the previous photo was taken).

Inside there is much memorabilia such as this trapeze practice rig . . .

. . . and the stilted lady . . .

. . . and of course, the bandwagon!

You can even ride the bareback horse!

One of the highlights is this complete miniature circus, created by a man named Howard. He was refused permission to use the Ringling Bros. logo, so he used the fictional "Howard Circus"

Every detail of the small town that was the circus is recreated in this sprawling display.

Including of course the"Big Top!"

Complete with animated horse riders! The challenge of a 3 ring circus was keeping up with what was going on!

When the circus moved, it was on the railroad. And Mr Ringling rode in style!

His guests also rode in style in individual "staterooms!"

The lounge area doubled as a dining area for Ringling and his guests.

One of the most popular acts was the"Human Cannonball!"

A series of photos document that in some cases, they "shot" two people out of the canon at once!

And of course, the midway had fun houses with mirrors that make you laugh!

The real star of this show, however, is the mansion and grounds!

Banyon trees are everywhere.

The marble tiled dock leads you up to this patio, overlooking Sarasota Bay.

Inside is just as opulent.

The Ringlings collected the most wonderful art available in the world. Much is in the house, but they also built a large museum to hold the majority. This is the family dining room.

The formal dining room is a little larger!

The kitchen was state of the art for its time and had refrigeration with ice backup.

A gas stove . . . 

. . .  just in case the electricity went out!

The bedrooms weren't on the self-guided tour, so we had to make do with seeing large poster-sized photographs.

Sarasota Bay as seen from the kitchen entrance.

Just your basic starter mansion! This is the view of the mansion from the marble tiled boat dock!

The centerpiece of the garden is this small cupola.

The Ringlings owned so much fine art, there simply wasn't space in the mansion to display even a small fraction. This museum was built specifically to house and protect the art collection.

Much of the art is religious in nature. Here the story from Daniel where Suzanna is surprised in her garden by two lecherous men. (When she refuses to lie with them, they accuse her of harboring a lover. When she is condemned, Daniel comes to her defense and justice is done!)

The day in Sarasota ends and we drove back to Anna Maria Island for Valentine's dinner.

 Next: A short but enjoyable stay with Bill & Peggy