A Visit to Ca’D’Zan and to The Ringling Brothers Museum

On a beautiful October day, we finally experienced Ca’D’Zan, the House of John, the 1920s Venetian Gothic palace on Sarasota Bay, home of John and Mable Ringling, their Museum of Art, and the beautiful gardens decorated with replicas of Italian statues. Located in Sarasota, Florida, the property was bequeathed to the state of Florida in 1936. In 1927, John Ringling moved the winter quarters of the Ringling show from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Sarasota County where it remained for over 60 years. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus now rehearses their new show in Tampa. P.T. Barnum (1810-1891) chose Bridgeport, Connecticut, as his home where he built three mansions, Iranistan, Waldemere, and Marina. Iranistan was modeled after George IV’s Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England, with furniture made expressly for every room. It burned to the ground in 1857 during renovations. Waldemere (1868) was a Victorian-style structure overlooking the Long Island Sound in which he lived for 20 years, surrounded by treasures collected from around the world. He built Marina next to Waldemere three years before his death.