The Ringling Museum- The Mansion

 This museum is now one of our favorite spots that we have ever visited.  We spent over 5 hours and only saw about 2/3  of it.  We'll definitely be going back!

The tour was self guided and we had picked an

 amazingly unbusy day so we could linger as long 

as we liked .  This is the terrace, all marble from

Italy.  The Ringling's, John and Mabel, loved touring

Europe and collected art and ideas for their own home. 

A Roman soldier watches over approaching boat.

This is a one of a kind sink made with a specially

formulated metal to withstand use and remain beautiful.

The large S shape is to allow pots to remain stable while 

being filled from the spigot.

Sadly, the recent hurricanes caused a great deal of 

damage to the entire property.  This is some of 

the remains of a once gorgeous rose garden.  The 

staff is sourcing stock for new plants based on the

original cultivars.

You can't miss the grand house as you walk up the path.

We were able to get a shot of the back of the

mansion as we passed on our way to our next stop.

Just as impressive from the water as it was from shore.

The entrance to the park.

Ringling had his crest worked into the protective grills

over the windows.  You can see the plywood being used 

in making repairs.  The entire second floor is still

undergoing renovation.

This is an amazing feat of woodworking.  I 

can't imagine the effort require to carve and then 

install this ceiling over 20 feet about the floor.

 

The Ringlings were friends with Thomas Edison

so they had a fully modern house including an

electric servant call system instead of the more common

bell pulls of that era.

The original window.  If you look closely, you can

see that the glass is slowly moving down each pane

graphically reminding us that glass is really a liquid.

A grand atrium lights up the ballroom,

 linking the living wing with the entertaining wing.

John Ringling's office.

When you have a dinner for almost 100, you need

a big stove!

A closer look at the front of the house.

One of the staircases leading to the bedrooms.

.

For guest arriving by boat

Every man needs his own bar.  I thought it

was interesting to have Texas longhorns hanging

in such and ornate area.

This was all ONE tree!

The back view of the house from the terrace.

A big kid just needed to slide!