the Ringling Circus Museum

We had to take a tour of this museum to honor our friend Zerelda, who invited Lonna to run away with her to visit the circus.  We hit the museum, the Tibbals Learning Center, the Original Museum, Ca'd'Zan, the John & Mabel Ringling Home, and Mabel's Rose Garden.  To put it in perspective - in the year(s) when the home was built, John gave Mabel $250,000 to build it.  That's an astonishing amount of money for that year, and she went a bit over budget, like $1,000,000 over budget.

The detail and craftsmanship of the workers seemed clear indication to me that they didn't just round up some locals to complete it.  As I recall, they did use several local natives for some of the heavy lifting, but the  skill work belonged to a number of Italians who were brought over specifically for the task.  It's all extraordinary.  I don't think I have a single picture that really reflects the quality, but the front view here gives some indication.

On the back side there is a beautiful terrace with inlaid stone.  It gets rented out for weddings and such.  An example is at the blogspot of Limelight Studios.  Just guessing - the rental probably exceeds $1,000 . . .

Along the way, at the Museum and at the Ca'D'Za, we met a couple of terrific docents (Wikipedia: a title used in the U.S. for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collection.)  Both of them were knowledgeable, but more important were passionate about their topic, and we learned much.  It was worth the minimal cost.  This is a sitting room in the middle of Ca'D'Za.  Our house would fit inside it, I believe.

In the Tibbals Center we also viewed the scale model of a circus complete with menagerie, Big Top, Ford Tent, etc.  It was laid out over 3800 square feet that took 50 years to complete.  It was amazing.  Having read Water for Elephants before we got there made everything in the scenery make sense.  I have no photos but here is a video.

It was a beautiful day.