July 18, 2010

Mable's Garden


This statue is located in the Mable Ringling rose garden on the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  Yes, Ringling....as in Ringling Circus.  Sarasota has a long, colorful history surrounding the circus, including the city being the winter home for John Ringling and his wife.  (More on that in a future post.)  The rose garden is one of three accredited public rose gardens in the State of Florida.  Few people realize this, but the grounds are free and open to the public, including the statue filled gardens and the beautiful tree lined grounds leading to the Ca d'Zan (the Ringling mansion) situated right on Sarasota Bay.  The art museum, which John Ringling built to house his personal collection, is a must-see and requires admission.  There's also a fairly new circus museum, which I haven't visited yet.

7 comments:

tinyskillet said...

We almost went there this week. We love going to the grounds just to walk around. I have lots of photos of the Ca d'Zan too! We'll be there next week, not Monday because the admission to the museum is free on Mondays. The Circus Museum is fun to go through too.

Leslie D. said...

I like that statue - it seems to be really old like maybe from the turn of the century. Interesting post!

Lowell said...

We have not visited any Ringling thing in your area...I think it's about time. Very nice!

T. Becque said...

It looks pretty. I never knew - a circus museum!

SRQ said...

LD - You have a good eye! The gardens were completed in 1913.

Lois said...

I have been there a few times and it is stunning! Not many people realize this, but the Ringling (including the Asolo Theatre) is operated by the Florida State University College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance.

James Mark said...

Very nice; the slideshow on the linked site too.