Okay, so it wasn't the nicest day. And as we'd seen for ourselves the day before--schockingly--on well-to-do Siesta Key, Sarasota did suffer a one-two punch from Hurricanes Helene and Milton last fall. But the Venice-inspired "House of John" (Ringling) disappointed, big-time.
The surge from one of the storms flooded the basement and denuded Mable's Rose Garden which looked worse in color, believe it or not. The salt water must have killed all the bushes.
The first floor of the 56-room mansion re-opened to visitors only in mid-December. Dancing couples from around the world--painted on the ceiling by Willy Pogany during the Roaring Twenties--raised an eyebrow: Florida didn't stop lynching African Americans until 1926, the year construction of Cà d'Zan was completed.
Some of the furnishings could only be described as vulgar.
Threadbare upholstery on this Venetian dining chair reflected the overall sense that Florida State University wasn't maintaining the mansion very well.
Only the bar seemed in tip top shape.
The bay front exterior was more appealing, except for the appalling easy chairs.
Tinted windows shielded the living room from the afternoon sun over Sarasota Bay.
Thom and Chris are standing at the edge of the marble terrace. Imagine doing the Charleston on a warm February nigh with a live orchestra playing under a full moon instead of this dreary scene.
John & Mable, and John's only sister in a family of seven children--Ida Ringling North, who lived longer than any of them--were reinterred together for eternity at Cà d' Zan in 1991. A legal dispute kept them separated for more than five decades.
More Ringling:
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