Ringling Estate
July 5, 2002

The Ringling Estate is located in Sarasota, Florida, approximately 100 miles north of Cape Coral.  We discovered that the estate was actually three different museums:   Cà d'Zan (the Ringling mansion), an art museum full of art works collected by John Ringling over the years, and a circus museum.

Years ago we had heard that the Ringling Circus had its winter headquarters in Florida.   We asked about this and were told that it had closed down awhile back.  We also asked about the Ringling Clown College which we had heard was also in Florida.   We were told that there might be something like this in Tampa but that they weren't sure.

What we did see was interesting, although we would have rather seen a little less mansion and art, and seen more circus displays.  If you're interested in learning more about the Ringling Estate, click here.

Flash photography was not permitted inside any of the buildings.  Because of this, the majority of my indoor pictures were too dark or out of focus and were discarded.  The following were the best of our day's photos.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

We stopped at IHOP for breakfast ~ yum!		On the estate grounds.	A banyan tree.
Cà d'Zan (the Ringling mansion) exterior photos.
		Cà d'Zan interior photos.
Circus Museum interior photos.
Art Museum exterior photos.			Don't try this at home ladies!  J
Art museum interior shots.