Yep , we’re still in Florida! The picture above is the magnificent house that John and Mable Ringling built in Sarasota , Florida. John was the youngest of the five brothers who created the Ringling Brothers Circus empire. Each had distinct responsibilities – John was the booking agent. He eventually became the sole owner and very wealthy from investments in real estate , oil and railroads.
When John died he deeded the land and buildings of his compound to the state of Florida. John and Mable also built a spectacular museum to house their art collection. Both the house and the museum plus two circus museums are opened to the public but that almost didn’t happen. For ten years after John died the estate was tied up because creditors wanted money that was owed to them. Everything was allowed to deteriorate and had to be restored. Then again in the 1990s it was in very bad condition because money had not been spent to maintain it. Fortunately enough money , half from the state , half from donors ($100,000,000!) was raised to restore everything. More pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/tonyandkaren1/RinglingMuseumFlorida?authkey=Gv1sRgCITEmMf7lYer8AE#
