Скачать или смотреть Famous Graves and the Family that Ruled America

The final resting place of Charles Ringling a founding member of the Ringling brothers circus. Ringling was also a promo ant member in the creation. Of Sarasota Florida.

Built in 1925 and 1926 and situated near the Sarasota County Courthouse, the building remains one of the more visible and enduring historic structures from before World War II downtown.

Designed by Milwaukee architect John S. Sheperd, construction was initially budgeted at $50,000, but the final price tag was $65,000 - a considerable sum at the time.

It is believed the price increased, in part, stemmed from a railroad embargo that reduced the availability of building materials, and a local union strike that raised construction workers' pay from 85 cents to $1 per hour.

When completed, the Mediterranean Revival-style building was described by the press as "having an Italian design with a Spanish influence."

The building, which today is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been home to a series of grocery stores, restaurants and night clubs over the years.

Charles Ringling also donated the land for nearby civic structures, including the courthouse, the architecturally significant Terrace Building, and the the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad station that once stood nearby.

Four years earlier, Charles Ringling had purchased land from the Sarasota Golf Holding Co. - a company in which John Hamilton Gillespie, Sarasota's first mayor, was an executive - and platted a new subdivision.

The subdivision had the train station at its eastern end and a grand hotel, financed by the Adair Realty and Trust Co. of Atlanta, as its centerpiece.

Charles Ringling felt tourists would be able to step off the train and stay in his 10-story Sarasota Terrace Hotel - which opened on June 24, 1926 - and be in the heart of the city.

He planned to build 150 Spanish-style homes in the subdivision, so he formed the Sarasota Home Building Co.

Additionally, Charles Ringling owned 53 commercial lots downtown, and a 33,000-acre ranch next to the site of where Myakka River State Park stands today.

Centennial anniversary

This week, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his arrival in Sarasota, Charles Ringling and his famous family will again be in the spotlight.

Charles Ringling was born on Dec. 2, 1863, in MacGregor, Iowa, and married the former Edith Conway in 1892. Together, they had two children, a son, Robert, and a daughter, Hester.


By 1907, after years of growth, the seven Ringling brothers bought out the Barnum and Bailey Circus and claimed the title "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Charles Ringling was in charge of production.

Civic leader

He first came to Sarasota in 1912, to visit his brother John, and became so fond of the area that he began splitting time here and his estate in Evanston, Ill.

Eventually, John focused on building along the coast and the waterfront, while Charles invested heavily downtown and greatly influenced the development of the city's business district.

As an outgrowth of his development work, he became president of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce in 1925, and founded the Ringling Bank and Trust Co., where he was president.

Charles Ringling died on Dec. 3, 1926, shortly after his office building and residence were completed. He was buried locally, in Manasota Park.


Historic Howey Mausoleum
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