Ringling

Another side trip we took was to Sarasota to visit the Ringling Museum.  I’ve always loved the circus and this trip filled in a lot of history to what I’ve seen in person and in movies.  For those of you who may not know, there were 5 Ringling brothers who fell in love with the circus when it came to their town and they practiced different acts and musical instruments, putting on larger and larger shows as they grew.  They each developed different skills in running the circus as it grew larger and larger.  John Ringling became the advance man, arranging places to perform, advertising, arranging food for both people and animals.  During his life he purchased most of the traveling circuses in America, including Barnum and Bailey, and truly became “The Greatest Show on Earth”. As the circus prospered, John invested in railroads, real estate, and oil, eventually becoming one of the wealthiest men in the US. He and his wife, Mabel, loved Sarasota, and built their winter home there on the water.  They wanted to do something for the town they loved so they arranged to build an art museum to house their large collection for the town to enjoy.  Sadly, Mabel died only 3 years after their beautiful home was finished and the stock market crash in 1929 nearly destroyed John’s empire.  He died in 1936 of pneumonia and left his house, lands and museum to the state of Florida (they had no children). 

We were not allowed to take pictures in the house but here are some from the exterior.

The house was named Ca’D’Zan – or House of John in Venetian.  They loved the Italian style and built their home to match.  Mabel chose all the materials, decorations and furnishings herself.  It is a work of art.

The window panes were a variety of colored glass that would create a mosaic on the floor when the sun streamed through.

The deck.

The dock where their 125-foot yacht picked up their guests for a ride.

Statues grace the grounds of Ca’d’Zan throughout the estate.

Aside from the gorgeous home and extensive art museum, there is a circus museum that we could have spent a lot more time in.  There were actual cage wagons that carried the animals, a miniature of the entire circus, a room where you could try out some of the skills a performer used, and a film that explained John’s career.

When the circus started traveling by train, John had his own car designed for he and Mabel.  The circus took 100 cars to move the whole show.

They traveled all over the eastern US

The entourage consisted of not only the performers, but all the people to support the circus: cooks, animal handlers, musicians, blacksmiths, and even wood carvers, and artists to build and decorate the wagons. In the early days, advertising consisted of the a parade driving through town with a band on top of a wagon drawing attention to the animals and special acts.  The wagon weighed over 8 tons and was pulled by 40 black horses.

I think the most impressive part of the museum for me was the miniature circus.  Like a miniature railroad, everything is to scale with detail beyond imagination!

Here is a portion of the grounds.  The big top is out of sight to the right.

Practicing before their turn to perform.

The dressing tent – men on one side, women on the other and prop preparation in the middle.

Before we “enter” the big top, we see the side shows.

Check your bicycle here

The midway was truly that – midway between the side show – (separate entrance fee) and the big top. 

We finally get to enter the “Big Top”!

Well, maybe not!  First we go through the menagerie.

Almost there – but what does Mom always ask before you go somewhere?

Do you need to use the bathroom?

Finally – the Big Top!

Of course the biggest tent on the grounds, it took just 4 hours to raise: 6 center poles, 74 quarter poles, 122 sidewall poles, 550 stakes, and 26,000 yards of canvas. The pounding of the stakes involves a ballet of men each swinging their mallet with precision timing.  Heaven help the one who misses!

Performances inside the big top were amazing sights.  At any given moment you could see acts taking place in three rings, four stages, round the outside track, and in the air above the rings.  In 1926, the program lasted about two and a half hours without intermission (aren’t you glad you stopped at the bathroom?).  The shows included more than 800 artists performing in 22 displays.  You couldn’t possibly see it all!

The big top could hold up to 15,000 people.  If all the seats were taken they would spread out straw for the children to sit on.  These are the kids not lucky enough to get tickets.

A few other sites around the grounds – where the public were not allowed:

The headliner stars got to have their family with them in a tent.  Here is “family life” on the road.

Besides the show horses, the circus had about 400 work horses.  When the train arrived in town – around 3AM - the horses were used to haul the wagons to the chosen lot (usually adjacent to the railway), and help raise the tent poles and canvas.  Then they would rest while the circus preparations went on around them.  While the circus was performing, the horses would start their evening jobs – starting with pulling down the cookhouse and dining tent. Before the evening performance was done, these were loaded on the railway cars and were on to their next venue to start all over again!