Sarasota, Florida was the home of Ringling Bros Circus, and now presents the Ringling Bros Art Museum.  Upon entering, the first thing you see is a massive circus in miniature, covering 3700 square feet, reproducing in astonishing detail an early circus lot.  The original circus would typically cover an area of 30 acres, requiring 1000 workers to set up at dawn and then tear down at the end of the day, in time to move the train to the next town that night. Another 500 workers consisted of performers and support crew, including 13 blacksmiths to keep the horses and carts running, more than 20 cooks to feed the crew, etc.

There was also a room dedicated to the movie The Greatest Show on Earth, with a host of great actors, including some (like Jimmy Stewart) that hadn’t yet become famous enough to make it on the movie poster.  While there, one woman sitting on a bench said to me “I don’t understand what these movie stars have to do with the circus.”  When I explained about the iconic movie from 1952, she replied “Oh, that was before I came to the United States.”  (It was also long before I was old enough to watch movies, but I have seen it multiple times in the decades since…)

Then there was the original custom train car used by John and Mable Ringling when touring with the circus. About 2/3 of the car was set up for the owner couple, with the remaining 1/3 split between the kitchen and quarters for all the cooks and servants.

Next up were several rooms with a multiple of often massive Renaissance paintings, typical of any large art museum.

Outside was a playground being enjoyed by several families. We were curious why the kids were not in school on a Monday, but never asked, so have no answer.