***Ringling brothers circus poster
Florida Memory Project
Photographic Collection

The Ringling Brother Circus empire was founded by five of the seven sons of August and Marie Salomé (Juliar) Rungling of Baraboo, Wisconsin. The brothers saw their first circus in McGregor, Iowa. In 1870, they premiered their own show and charged a penny as admission. In less than a decade, the Ringling Bros. Circus, World's Greatest Show, developed from a small wagon show in 1884 to a major railroad show covering most of the United States and Canada. John Ringling attributed the brothers' success to "hard work, common honesty, and a close study of what the public wants."


John took full control of the circus after his brother Charles died in 1926,

The circus travled often to Europe and John developed a tast for culture and art. John collected over six hundred Baroque masterpieces and many other works of art.

Portrait of Mable Ringling by Savely Sorine Mable Burton Ringling was born March 4, 1875 in Moons, Ohio. John and Mable was married in Hoboken, New Jersey. She was 30, and he was 39. In 1909, John and Mable started spending winters in Sarasota. He brought art and culture with him and did it in such grand, circus style that he set the pace for the artistic and cultural development that came after him. To view larger image click photo *The Cā d'Zan at the Ringling Estate Photo credit: The Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida In 1924, Ringling started construction on an Italian renaissance home. It was designed to resemble the Venetian Gothic palaces that the Ringlings had admired on their extensive Italian travels. The home was named Cā d'Zan (Venetian for "House of John"). &Sup1;The house is 200 feet long with 32 rooms and 15 baths. Approximately 22,000 square feet. The structure has four stories. The Ringling’s private bedrooms as well as five guest rooms encompass the second floor. The third floor consists of a game room and bath, and the fourth floor is a great, beamed guest room and bath with windows on all four sides. The pinnacle of the structure is a 61-foot tower with an open-air landing and a high domed ceiling. Its interior plan also features the Court, a vast two-and-a-half story room which served as the main living room. Kitchens, pantries and servants' quarters are located in the south wing. The original windows were handmade European tinted glass. To view larger image click photo Left-Windows at Cā d'Zan. All of the windows in the house have been restored to their original multi-color hand-painted tints Right-The Cā d'Zan 60-foot tower which was usually kept illuminated at night. *Photo credit: The Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida John also had a hand in the development of Sarasota. in 1925, Ringling was listed as one of the richest men in the world. The stock market crash of 1929 almost wiped Ringling out but he still had wealth in the form of his art. John's wife, Mable died in June of 1929, at the age of 54, just two-and-a-half years after Cā d'Zan was completed. On his death at age 70, Ringling left his home, his museum, and its art collection to the state of Florida. Today, thousands of people visit the Ringlings’ historic home. The thirty-room mansion provides a glimpse of the good life in the ‘Roaring 20s. [Florida Index] Some Facts and Photos [1] [2] [ 3] [ 4] [Currency] [Eatonville] [Lighthouses] [Art Deco- South Beach] [Kingsley Plantation] [Florida Plantations] [Ante Bellum Plantations] [Native Floridians] [James Weldon Johnson] [Mary Mc Leod Bethune] [The Knotts] [Zora Neale Hurston] [Dr. John Gorrie] [George Proctor] * This information is from Exploring Florida ¹The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art web site Photographs are from: Exploring Florida ***Florida Memory Project-Photographic Collection I have sincerely and honestly tried to follow all guidelines, terms of use and copyright notices for using information from the above sources and have given complete titles, web site addresses, credit, etc. to the best of my abilities. I take no credit for any of the information and have no personal knowledge of the events and I am not representing such. If the information I have provided concerning where and how the information was obtained is not properly done or credited, it is in no way intentional.