External corridor leading to wooden door, Ca’ d’Zan Mansion

Ca’ d’Zan Mansion external corridor leading to wooden door, Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida

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External corridor leading to wooden door, Ca’ d’Zan Mansion

Our final look at the external architectural details of the Ca’ d’Zan Mansion at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida (see other posts: Colored glass door, Belvedere Tower; and Venetian Gothic Architectural Details).

The Ringlings hired the famous New York architect Dwight James Baum, to design the home. Baum was responsible for many buildings in the Sarasota area including the Sarasota County Courthouse and the Sarasota Times Building. However, Mable Ringling, who had kept an oilskin portfolio filled with postcards, sketches and photos she had collected during her travels, oversaw every aspect of the construction, from the mixing of the terra cotta to the glazing of the tiles. Indeed, so great was her involvement that the original architectural plans called it “The Residence of Mrs. John Ringling.”  You can see the level of detail which can be found throughout the mansion in the above image.

This image is a seven shot HDR bracket set of an external passageway running behind the kitchen area to a wooden door.  As with the other parts of the mansion, the level of detail in the Venetian Gothic architecture is amazing. All of the columns have detailed fretwork on the top; the windows are either the multi-colored glass leaded panels or have the intricate fretwork design; and even the hinges on the door have their own unique design.

The John Ringling Estate as the mansion and surrounding grounds are known is included as part of the Caples–Ringling Estates Historic District which also includes the Charles Ringling Estate  and the Ralph Caples Estate, all of which are located next door to one another along Bayshore Drive in Sarasota.  The Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1982.  Both the Charles Ringling Estate and the Ralph Caples Estate are now part of the campus of New College of Florida.

Click here to learn more about John Ringling’s years in Sarasota where he wintered the famous circus and the built his now famous winter home.

We will continue our tour of the Ca’ d’Zan Mansion in the next post with a look some of the details inside the mansion