The History of St. Armands Circle

Flowers on St. Armands Circle, Sarasota Florida. Photo by Rosscrawford1

St. Armands Circle is an enchanting collection of fine shops and gourmet restaurants located on Lido Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. However, this area began as nothing more than an island of mangroves accessible only by boat.

St. Armands’ first resident was Frenchman, Charles St. Amand, who purchased tracts of land on Lido Key in 1893. He fished the gulf waters and raised produce that he transported by boat to the market in Sarasota. When deeds were later drawn up, this pioneer’s name was misspelled as St. Armand, a mistake that transferred to the naming of this area and remains to this day.

In 1917, John Ringling, famed Ringling Brothers circus magnate, purchased the St. Armands property where he envisioned the development of luxury homes and a shopping center designed as a circle. The only access to the island was still by boat, so Ringling commissioned a paddle-wheel steamboat to transport workers and supplies to the island. His crews dredged canals, and built sidewalks and streets with very unique curbs.

Needing a connection between the mainland and the island, John Ringling began construction on a causeway in 1925. The large timbers needed to build the bridge were hauled by elephants borrowed from the circus. John Ringling lead a parade across the causeway in 1926 as the John Ringling causeway was opened and sales began at Ringling Estates. Prospective buyers and sightseers were transported by bus across the bridge. That first day an estimated $1 million in property sales were made, but that’s where development came to a halt.

The nationwide depression began to worsen, and land sales in Florida and St. Armands were non-existent. In 1928, John Ringling donated the rotting causeway to the City of Sarasota. He died soon after in 1936. With no one to care for it, the circle began to rot, with the bandstand sagging and vegetation covering the streets and sidewalks. For 20 years after that point St. Armands was nearly lifeless. It was a near ghost town with only a handful of tourists curious enough to take a look at the island.

During the 1940’s, there were several investors who took a chance and opened up restaurants and a service station on the Circle. However, it wasn’t until 1953, with the depression long over, that business finally began again. Within two years many shops had opened on St. Armands Circle, finally bringing John Ringling’s vision for the area to a reality.

Today, John Ringling’s influence is still apparent on the streets of St. Armands Circle with the friendly, welcoming atmosphere he originally designed and the presence of the Italian statuary from his personal collection placed throughout the island.