This week the nation celebrated Circus Day, a celebration of the spectacle, wonder, and imagination that once rolled into towns across America under the canvas of the big top. But here along Florida’s Gulf Coast, the circus didn’t just pass through, it put down roots.
Long before Sarasota became a cultural hub, it was a quiet coastal town with boardwalk sidewalks and more wilderness than development. Then came John Ringling, and with him, a transformation that would forever tie this region to the legacy of the American circus.
Photo credit: Manatee County Public Library System…