As a kid, I loved the circus. While I have a few fond memories of sitting in the nosebleed section, eating cotton candy, and seeing all the performers, I also remember being disappointed that we stopped going. Maybe that is why once I learned of the Ringling Circus Museum, located in Sarasota, I was set on visiting.
Sarasota is only a few hours from Ocala where I am spending a few months horse showing at the World Equestrian Center. I took a two-day break to explore Sarasota with visiting the Ringling Circus Museum being the main draw.
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Timed Entry for the Circus Museum
I feel fortunate it worked out, because the complex which includes the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Ca’ d’Zan (the Ringling home), and the Bayfront Gardens, has timed entries.
I arrived when the complex opened at 10am on weekday to a large, relatively empty parking lot. I figured there would be a line to purchase tickets, so I just got online and purchased them. This is how I found out there was a timed entry.
Tickets may be purchased for just the art museum, circus museum, and the gardens. And the Ca’ d’Zan, their home, may be added for an additional price. Private tours are also available.
Ca’d’Zan
I was on the fence about visiting Ca’ d’Zan because usually old timey furniture doesn’t interest me, but the first available timed entry for the circus museum was at noon, and the Ca’ d’Zan could be toured at 11. As I result, I paid the extra fee to see the first floor of the glamorous Mediterranean Revival style mansion.
I am so glad I visited the Ringling Home. The 36,000 square foot home with 56 rooms is situated on the water which provides lovely views. The old and multi-colored, stained-glass windows alone were worth the price of admission to me.
It was like looking through a kaleidoscope pointed out to sea! I also liked the intricate ceilings, tile work, and all the kitchen stoves and refrigerators from the 1920’s.
The self-guided tour with audio through your phone (bring your own headphones) took about 45 minutes. By then, it was time to explore the rest of the complex, though on this weekday morning the personnel didn’t seem strict about the entry times.
Bayfront Gardens
It was an unseasonably cold day in Florida, below 40. As a result, I zipped through the expansive gardens. Not only was it cold, not much was in bloom. The rose garden was barren. But on a spring day, the gardens would be lovely. If you’d like to enjoy the outdoors while visiting Sarasota, try the Celery Fields. The wetlands offer excellent birding.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
As I mentioned above, I was particularly interested in the Ringling Circus Museum. Unlike the home and the art museum, which John Ringling had built, the circus museum was established in 1948, many years after John Ringling’s death.
I was puzzled about why there was an art museum with the circus museum, but it turned out to be the opposite. The art museum came first! John Ringling and his wife Mable collected over 600 art specimens from Europe with the acquistion of four giant Rubens being the center pieces in their own gallery.
The Ringlings hired a famous architect to construct the U shaped museum with a designated gallery for the Rubens. And upon John Ringling’s death in 1936, he bequeathed the museum and the rest of his estate to the people of Florida.
Admittedly, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the museum either, because I really wanted to know the history of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey’s “Greatest Show On Earth.” But Rubens in the special gallery were stunning.
History of the Circus
It is funny how things in life come full circle, because I could not stand history in high school, and as a result I know very little about the past. Now I want to know all about it. I didn’t know the ancient circus came from Rome! And despite being in the horse industry, I didn’t know the first modern circus began in 1768 in London with Philip Astley displaying horse riding tricks.
I thought the first circus was started in America. But that didn’t happen until 1793 in Philadelphia when John Bill Ricketts, an English equestrian performer, put on a show. And it wasn’t until 1825 with the introduction of a tent that the circus truly became a roving act.
The Ringling Brothers and the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus didn’t come to fruition until 1919. There were many smaller circus acts and mergers that finally led to the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
History of the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus
First, Hachaliah Bailey purchased an African elephant named “Old Bet” in 1806, and P.T. Barnum worked as a ticket seller for him as a young boy.
Later, P.T. Barnum moved on to open Barnum’s American Museum in New York City in 1841 and soon began traveling with it. After suffering through two fires, P.T. Barnum retired in 1868 but was coaxed out of retirement in 1871 to lend his name to another circus act in Wisconsin known as “P.T Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome.”
In the meantime, Hachaliah Bailey’s nephew, James Bailey, teamed up with James Cooper to create the Cooper and Bailey Circus which outperformed Barnum. As a result, Barnum approached Cooper and Bailey to merge. The shows combined in 1881 ultimately naming themselves the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and featured Jumbo, the world’s largest elephant.
History of the Ringling Bros Circus
With the Barnum and Bailey Circus at its peak, the Ringling Bros Circus launched in 1884 in Wisconsin, when five of the seven Ringling brothers put together a show that they moved from town to town via animal drawn caravans. Their circus grew rapidly and soon they used trains, making them the largest traveling amusement enterprise at the time.
When Bailey took his popular circus from the East Coast to Europe from 1897 to 1902, the Ringling brothers took their circus from the Midwest to the East Coast. Upon return to the USA, facing competition, Bailey moved his circus to the West in 1905. And after Bailey’s death, the Ringling Bros purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907.
History of the Greatest Show on Earth
The two circuses were operated separately until 1919. At that time, only two Ringling brothers (Charles and John) were managing the show while facing labor shortages and train travel challenges with the onset of World War I. As a result, they finally merged and premiered The Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Show and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth in New York City.
The circus flourished through the Roaring Twenties and John Ringling moved the circus headquarters to Sarasota, Florida where he lived in 1927. The circus faced financial hardship during the Great Depression and was found negligent for the death of 167 spectators and multiple injuries when the Big Top tent caught fire in Connecticut in 1944.
As a result of these events coupled with World War II and competition with movies and television, the final performance of the circus under a big tent took place in Philadelphia in 1956. Subsequently, the circus was performed indoors and was later bought for $8 million in 1968 with the backing of Richard Bluem and promoted by the Feld Brothers.
The company went public in 1969, and Mattel purchased the circus in 1971 for $40 million while the Feld family retained management. The circus continued until 2017 when it finally closed down citing high operating costs, declining ticket sales, and concerns for animal welfare. The circus relaunched in 2023 without animal performances.
The Ringling Circus Museum
The Ringling Circus Museum includes a timeline of all the Circus events coupled with many world events and the terms of the presidents of the United States. The timeline really put things into perspective.
The museum also features circus props, outfits, memorabilia, and colorful wagons. There are also some interactive displays. It took me three tries to walk a 20 ft tight rope that was only inches off the ground.
I was surprised to learn about the clown ranking system. Certain clowns are considered a higher status than others.
Howard Tibbals Model Circus Room
In addition to all the memorabilia and history, there is a giant room dedicated to a miniature circus display. It is like seeing a model train board set up, but with the circus.
The 3,800 square foot Howard Bros Circus Model is named for Howard Tibbals who painstakingly carved every piece of the display.
Howard began carving the 46,000 pieces of the circus in 1956 while in college, and he continued up until April 2021, a year before he passed.
The pieces are historically accurate and show the entire process of the circus from the set up and kitchen crew, to the animal caretakers, to the behind the scenes performer tents, to the actual show with moving parts and lights!
It is truly a remarkable sight, and I loved learning about the entire logistical process of moving the show each night by train. And I thought getting to a horse show was hard!
Overall, I am really glad I visited the Ringling Complex. I particularly liked the Ringling Bros Circus Museum and the Ca’ d’Zan. I mistakenly missed visiting the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavillion which features a collection of the Ringling’s studio glass. It serves as the entrance to the Asolo Theater which is on a different side of the parking lot. So be sure to check it out too.
Finally, the Museum of Art, the Bayfront Gardens, and the Glass Pavillion are all free to visit on Monday, so if you don’t have time to see the whole complex after visiting the Ringling Circus Museum and home, you can always return on Free Monday. ETB
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I visited this museum years ago and absolutely loved it! I would love to go back and see it all again 🙂
Awesome! I thought it was great too!
I loved the circus as a kid!
Just another thing we have in common!!