In 1927 on this date, John Ringling announced that Sarasota would become the winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In 1960, Ringling moved its winter quarters to Venice and the impact of the circus expanded into the larger Sarasota County area.

Get a fun circus poster here.

Where’s Big Bertha now? How does Brooklyn sound? Read about the circus, 2013: A New York Times article.

Thanks to J. Whitcomb Rylee, http://www.sarasotacircushistory.com/,  Lynn Harding, http://www.visitsarasota.org/, and the State Archives of Florida.