49 Fun Facts About Sarasota

The city sits on a lagoon that opens onto which larger body of water?

Sarasota Bay is a lagoon opening onto the Gulf of Mexico, sheltered by barrier islands such as Lido Key, St. Armands Key, Bird Key and Siesta Key.

Sarasota County was carved out of which neighbouring county in 1921?

Sarasota County was split off from Manatee County in 1921, and the city of Sarasota became the new county's seat.

What was Sarasota's population at the 2020 census?

The 2020 census counted 54,842 people in the city of Sarasota; the wider North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton metro area had about 834,000, among Florida's largest.

Which nickname does Sarasota carry because of its big-top history?

Sarasota is nicknamed Circus City because the Ringling circus made the town its winter quarters for decades; it is also called the Circus Capital of the World.

In which year did John Ringling move the circus's winter quarters to Sarasota?

John Ringling moved the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey winter quarters from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Sarasota in 1927; the Circus Museum followed in 1948.

What does the name of the Ringlings' mansion, Ca' d'Zan, mean?

Ca' d'Zan is Venetian dialect for 'House of John'; the Ringlings fell for Venice on their travels and modelled the mansion on its Grand Canal palazzi.

Which builder completed Ca' d'Zan in 1926?

Owen Burns, Sarasota's leading developer, was the contractor who built Ca' d'Zan to Dwight James Baum's design; Burns also built the El Vernona hotel, later the John Ringling Towers.

The Ringling Museum is the official art museum of what?

John Ringling willed his property, collection and a $1.2 million endowment to the people of Florida in 1936.

Which Flemish Baroque painter is the Ringling Museum especially known for collecting?

The Ringling is best known for Peter Paul Rubens, above all his giant Triumph of the Eucharist cartoons; the museum has 21 galleries of European paintings and over 10,000 objects.

Which university took over administration of the Ringling Museum in 2000?

Florida State University took over the museum in 2000; Ringling's will said no one could ever change the museum's official name.

A copy of which famous statue serves as the symbol of Sarasota and appears on its city seal?

A bronze copy of Michelangelo's David in the Ringling Museum courtyard became Sarasota's official symbol, and the statue appears on the city seal with the motto 'May Sarasota Prosper'.

What is Siesta Beach's sand made of that makes it stay cool underfoot?

Siesta Beach sand is 99% quartz, which reflects heat and stays cool underfoot; most of it washed down from the Appalachian Mountains over millions of years.

Siesta Beach was named number one in the contiguous US in which 2020 awards?

TripAdvisor's 2020 Travelers' Choice awards, based on millions of traveller reviews, ranked Siesta Beach the best in the contiguous United States; it had topped the US list in 2015 and 2017 too.

Which road link carries traffic from downtown to St. Armands Key and Lido Key?

The John Ringling Causeway carries traffic from downtown Sarasota across the bay to St. Armands Key and Lido Key; Ringling opened the original causeway in 1926 to reach his St. Armands development.

What series of St. Armands Circle plaques honours big-top greats, like Hollywood's sidewalk stars?

The Circus Ring of Fame at St. Armands Circle honours circus greats with bronze wagon-wheel plaques set into the sidewalk; inductees include Nik Wallenda and the King Charles Troupe.

Which Sarasota youth troupe is billed as the oldest of its kind?

Sailor Circus, begun at Sarasota High School in 1949, bills itself as America's oldest youth circus; it is run by the Circus Arts Conservatory, co-founded by aerialist Dolly Jacobs.

Which marine scientist founded Mote Marine Laboratory in 1955?

Eugenie Clark, the ichthyologist nicknamed the 'Shark Lady', founded it in 1955 as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory; it took the Mote name in 1967 after benefactor William Mote.

Where is Mote Marine Laboratory based?

Mote's main campus and aquarium sit on City Island, just off Lido Key; it also has campuses in eastern Sarasota County, Boca Grande and the Florida Keys.

What kind of plants, including orchids and bromeliads, are the speciality of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens?

Selby Gardens, on 15 bayfront acres in downtown Sarasota, is devoted to epiphytes: air plants such as orchids and bromeliads that grow on other plants rather than in soil.

What is the biggest attraction at Sarasota Jungle Gardens, open since 1939?

Sarasota Jungle Gardens' signature attraction is its flock of free-roaming flamingos, which guests can hand-feed and walk among; the 10-acre garden opened in 1939.

Myakka River State Park has North America's first public what?

Myakka's Canopy Walkway, opened in 2000, was North America's first public treetop canopy walkway; the 37,000-acre park is among Florida's oldest and largest, laid out by the CCC in the 1930s.

Who suggested the purple and lavender colour scheme of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall?

Olgivanna Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright's widow, picked the purple-lavender palette; the seashell-inspired hall, opened in 1970, was designed by William Wesley Peters of Taliesin Associated Architects.

Which MLB team moved its spring training to Ed Smith Stadium in 2010?

The Baltimore Orioles moved their spring training to a renovated Ed Smith Stadium in 2010; the Cincinnati Reds had trained there from 1998 to 2008.

What is the three-letter airport code of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport?

SRQ is the code for Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, whose runways straddle the Sarasota–Manatee county line just north of downtown Sarasota.

Which Sarasota neighbourhood is home to an unusual, relatively liberal Amish-Mennonite community?

Pinecraft, east of downtown Sarasota, is a winter haven for Amish and Mennonites who relax the usual rules, riding three-wheeled bicycles; the reality show Breaking Amish: Brave New World was set there.

Which Cecil B. DeMille circus film was shot and premiered in Sarasota in 1952?

The Greatest Show on Earth, DeMille's 1952 Best Picture winner, was filmed at the Ringling circus winter quarters in Sarasota and starred Betty Hutton, Charlton Heston and James Stewart.

Which 2013 Jason Statham film shot scenes at Ca' d'Zan?

Great Expectations and Palmetto were both filmed in Sarasota in 1998.

What is the local mid-century modernist movement blending Bauhaus and Frank Lloyd Wright ideas called?

The Sarasota School of Architecture, led by Ralph Twitchell and Paul Rudolph from the 1940s, fused Bauhaus and Wright ideas with Florida's climate; Rudolph's Riverview High School was demolished in 2009 despite protests.

The Sarasota Chalk Festival, founded in 2007, began in which downtown district?

The Sarasota Chalk Festival started in 2007 on the streets of Burns Square, south of downtown, celebrating the Italian madonnari tradition of street painting; it later moved to Venice, Florida.

The Sarasota Orchestra, founded in 1949, was long known by what name?

It was the Florida West Coast Symphony from its 1949 founding by Ruth Cotton Butler until it became the Sarasota Orchestra in 2008; it also runs the three-week Sarasota Music Festival each June.

What was the Sarasota Opera House called when it opened in 1926?

It opened in 1926 as the Edwards Theatre, named for its builder A. B. Edwards; Elvis Presley played there in 1956, long before the Sarasota Opera restored it as its home.

From which country was the Historic Asolo Theater imported and rebuilt by the Ringling Museum?

The Historic Asolo Theater is an 18th-century court playhouse from Asolo, Italy, bought in 1949 and reassembled at the Ringling; the Asolo Rep's Mertz Theatre separately holds a Scottish opera-house interior from Dunfermline.

Which lead singer of AC/DC is among the rock musicians who settled in Sarasota?

Brian Johnson, who joined AC/DC as lead singer in 1980, has made Sarasota his home for decades; Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts also settled nearby in Osprey.

Which local campus is the state university system's residential liberal arts honours institution?

New College of Florida, founded in 1960 and opened in 1964 as a private college, joined the state system in 1975 and was designated Florida's honors college for the liberal arts in 2001.

In which year was the Ringling art and design school founded?

Ringling College of Art and Design was founded in 1931, when Southern College president Ludd M. Spivey and John Ringling opened it as a branch of Southern College beside the museum.

What was the building of the city's art museum, opened in 2019, originally?

The Sarasota Art Museum occupies the 1926 Sarasota High School building designed by M. Leo Elliott; the Collegiate Gothic landmark was restored over several years and the museum is a division of Ringling College.

Which sport held its 2017 world championships at Nathan Benderson Park?

The park's lake has a 2,000-metre eight-lane rowing course and has hosted US Olympic trials.

Which name did Sarasota's soccer club take when it joined USL League Two in 2023?

Sarasota Paradise joined USL League Two, the national pre-professional league, for the 2023 season; the Sharks and Tsunami are the city's competitive swim clubs.

In which year was Sarasota first incorporated as a town?

Sarasota was incorporated as a town in 1902 with John Hamilton Gillespie as its first mayor; it was reincorporated as a city in 1913.

Which American settler is credited with settling the Sarasota area in the mid-19th century?

William Henry Whitaker built the first permanent homestead at Yellow Bluffs on Sarasota Bay in 1842 and ran cattle there for decades; Bertha Palmer and the Ringlings drove the later boom.

Which US highway, known locally as the Tamiami Trail, runs through Sarasota?

US 41, the Tamiami Trail, links Tampa and Miami and runs through Sarasota as the main north–south artery along the bayfront; the road across the Everglades opened in 1928.

Which Sarasota TV anchor made national headlines in 1974 by shooting herself live on air?

Christine Chubbuck hosted a morning show on Sarasota's WXLT-TV, where the July 1974 on-air tragedy occurred; the station is now ABC affiliate WWSB.

What are residents of Sarasota generally called?

Residents are called Sarasotans; the city's name is of uncertain origin, with early Spanish-era maps labelling the bay with variants such as 'Sarazota'.

The Myakka River, which runs through Sarasota County's big state park, empties into which bay?

The Myakka River rises near Myakka City in Manatee County, runs about 66 miles south through Myakka River State Park and empties into Charlotte Harbor near Port Charlotte.

Which MLB club held spring training at Sarasota's Payne Park from 1960 to 1988?

The Chicago White Sox held spring training at Sarasota's downtown Payne Park from 1960 to 1988, then moved to the new Ed Smith Stadium; the Boston Red Sox had used Payne Park from 1933 to 1958.

Sarasota's municipal golf course is named after which golfer?

Bobby Jones Golf Club, the city's municipal course, was dedicated in 1927 with the amateur champion himself present; three years later Jones won all four majors of 1930, the Grand Slam.

Which creator of the Travis McGee novels lived on Sarasota's Siesta Key for decades?

John D. MacDonald, creator of Florida salvage consultant Travis McGee, lived on Siesta Key from the early 1950s until his death in 1986; his novel Condominium is set on a thinly disguised Gulf key.

Which golf architect designed the Sara Bay course in Sarasota's Whitfield area?

Donald Ross laid out Sara Bay, opened in 1926 as Whitfield Estates Country Club, one of many Florida courses by the Scottish-born architect of Pinehurst No. 2.

Which major-league club held spring training at Sarasota's Payne Park from 1924 to 1927?

The New York Giants trained at Payne Park from 1924 to 1927 after John Ringling persuaded manager John McGraw to come; McGraw also fronted the ill-fated Pennant Park housing scheme in Sarasota.