We left you in the gardens of the Ringling estate.
We grabbed lunch from the food truck and ate it under the banyan trees.
Then, we made our way to our last stop in the complex, the circus museum.
Actually, before entering the circus galleries there in one last museum that curates glass creations.
The art pieces were impressive
and unusual.
Some of the works, like the sideboard below, were large-scale and very complex functional art pieces.
Below is detail of the sideboard.
We enjoyed the glass art, and finally, we entered the circus galleries.
One of the first galleries was dedicated to circus advertising and it looks like truth in advertising was not a thing back then. I wonder what happened to the only giraffe in the world.
The different galleries hold displays that range from photographs to artifacts. Some of the displays are interactive. You can try and squeeze in to a clown’s car,
or walk the wire. I barely made it across.
There were parade wagons
The cannon that shot performers through the air.
Visitors to the museum can examine performers’ wardrobes,
peek into the wood carving shop,
and admire the half finished and restored pieces.
The Circus Museum is home to the railroad car on which John and Mable Ringling traveled across the country looking for feature acts.
We walked on the platformed
admired the rich details,
and poked our heads into the the lounge,
the sleeping car,
and the bathroom.
The galleries led to the unbelievable circus scale model created in 2006. A 3,800 square foot, 44,000-piece re-creation of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus combined shows.
We walked through the long corridor with a town scape on one side and train on the other.
The blueprint below shows the many tents that were involved in the complex production of the circus, from animal tents to training tents, to the large tent and a few side shows.
All were reproduced with great detail. What an undertaking.
It was very challenging to capture the scale and enormity of this model, and I hope that if you scroll down and perhaps click on some of the photos to enlarge them, you may be able to get a sense of how incredible this model actually is.
As we walked out of the large room, we passed by model cars making their way towards the circus. So much fun to be had! Do you remember going to the circus as a child? What an experience that was!
At the end of the show it all had to be dismantled and reloaded on the trains
Of course, there were models of these trains as well.
Leaving the galleries, we stopped to admire the Greatest Show on Earth Mural, a 924-square-foot mural depicting the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® show.
This museum is an incredible museum, but the large display of the wagon wheels is one of our favourites.
We hope you enjoyed the tour. Stay well!
Well that is a real museum. It showed so much. Thank you
Thanks for coming along!
15,000 people is incredible! That is huge.
I am a fan of functional art so I loved those pieces best!
Those tents were huge! The glass art was beautiful, but I would be afraid to rock on that rocking chair, so maybe less functional than I thought it was 😊
That was an amazing tour. Thank you so much 😊
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
what a cool and crazy life!
Isn’t it?
Wow, terrific post!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wow. What a fabulous place. The work involved in creating the models and in coordinating the real circus is mind boggling. Such an interesting and colourful experience. Thanks.
Colourful is a good way to describe it. I walked in thinking it was gaudy, but was captivated by the displays.
It’s not surprising that something like this exists, but I’m amazed at some of the art pieces that I would never have guessed would be part of a circus museum. The model is amazing. I’d be interested in learning how long it took to complete and how many people were involved in constructing it.
Thank you for asking. I did find this little article: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/36897
Beautiful photos! 🙂
Thank you!
Great virtual tour! Thanks for sharing. I loved the poster with the giraffe!
Thanks for coming along. The giraffe poster was cool!
Another interesting post! We are adding this museum to our list. Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and insight!
Thank you! By the way, they have a reciprocity program with many other institutions, so if you have one of those you’ll be saving $50!
Good to know about the reciprocity program. I will add that to our notes. Thank you!
Such an interesting post. Loved it. Over the years I worked many circuses including Ringling, and I always enjoyed them.
Oh, that is so cool! I would love to read about it!
We spent hours here, it was a great museum
I’m glad you had a chance to go. It is such a unique place!
A fascinating glimpse into another era. Just as we remembered from our tour way back when. Thanks for the memories. Allan
It is a fascinating place! Thanks for coming along!
That is a very cool museum. I loved the different glass and art pieces but the models of the circus and cars are the showstoppers!
And enjoying a good food truck meal is always a treat!
It was very cool and so different from anything I’ve seen before. The food truck was just okay though 😊
I never went to the circus when I was a kid. I was afraid of clowns and wanted nothing to do with them. I still find clowns creepy. This looks like a neat museum to explore though. The glass creations look beautiful.
It’s interesting how many people find clowns creepy. I had to look it up and there is so many interesting articles about coulrophobia. I’m not a huge fan of this type of humour, but in context of the circus I guess it works.
Very fascinating to see a museum dedicated to the Ringling Circus, especially on a remote estate! All the same, the glass collection is an unexpected, but beautiful exhibition, and it must’ve been intriguing to learn more about the circus’s business and history. Glad you enjoyed your time there!
It was a very unexpectedly interesting museum to visit!
Especially liked the glasswork
It was a nice bonus to the main event!
Wow lots of amazing pictures and so much history there. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for joining us!
For some reason I was unable to ‘like’ this post???? I wonder why… Muriel
As long as you liked it in your head it’s good enough for me. If the issue continue we may have to investigate further 😊
This was on my list of places I wanted to see while in Florida, but I somehow got distracted with buying a horse!!
I can see how that can happen…my daughter and I once went to an auction to buy buckets and came home with a beautiful thoroughbred.
Thanks, what a great tour! I love miniature dioramas. Such attention to detail! I have never been to a circus and would probably give it a pass these days if one came to town but it must have been so amazing in its heyday!
Yeah, I had issues with the circus even back then. I felt sorry for the animals. Still, the history is interesting.