Despite back-to-back hurricanes, Sarasota, Florida, is thriving. The city's resilience shines through its attractions, including the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the Ringling complex, which houses museums, a historic mansion, and gardens.
SARASOTA , Florida – Mable Ringling ’s roses will have to be replanted. And historic St. Armands Circle needs to fill in a few vacant storefronts. Still, Sarasota – hit by back-to-back hurricanes last fall – is faring remarkably well, all things considered. The city, midway between Fort Myers and Tampa on Florida’s west coast, is a snowbird’s paradise with a little something for everyone – history, culture, dining, shopping and spring-training baseball, alongside some of the world’s best beaches.
One of those beaches – Siesta Key – took a direct hit on Oct. 9, when Hurricane Milton made landfall there with winds of 120 mph. Just 13 days earlier, Hurricane Helene flooded Florida’s west coast before coming ashore on the Florida Panhandle.Indeed, as I explored Sarasota last month, I noted that most of the region looked remarkably good. Yes, there were ongoing signs of recovery – burned out foliage at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, for example, and ongoing repairs of beachfront properties. Still, if you’re contemplating a trip to the Sarasota area this winter, don’t hesitate. There’s plenty here to enjoy.The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a sprawling 15-acre facility, calls itself a living museum and is home to more than 16,000 plants representing some 5,000 species. It specializes in air plants and epiphytes -- plants that grow on other plants -- including orchids, ferns and bromeliads. (“As you walk around, remember to look up,” reminds the garden’s signage.) The garden is named after Marietta native Marie Selby, who moved to Florida in the 1920s with her husband, the owner of an oil and gas business. The couple’s Spanish-style home now houses the park’s café. (There’s another restaurant on site, the Green Orchid, which bills itself as the world’s first net-positive energy restaurant, operating entirely on solar power.)Highlights of the park include the Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden, with rope bridges and swings and other activities for kids (and kids at heart); the Tropical Conservatory, with lush greenery on four sides; plus a bonsai exhibit, koi pond, succulent garden and much more. The property’s massive banyan trees are exquisite, although one – a bodhi tree, or sacred fig – was seriously damaged in the storm. It was propped up and severely trimmed during my visit, though its survival was not guaranteed, according to one volunteer. The garden staff was prepping for a major exhibition during my tour, “George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life,” which explores the late musician’s passion for gardening. It runs Feb. 9 through June 29.From Selby Gardens, I traveled across town to the Ringling, the former estate of circus magnate John Ringling and his wife, Mable. The complex, which features museums, a historic home and gardens, plus a performance center, is the city’s most spectacular and unique attraction. There’s an incredible art museum here, but my favorite part of the campus is the Circus Museum, which features costumes and props and equipment from a century of under-the-big-top performances. There’s Lou Jacob’s clown car, Bruno Zacchini’s super-repeating cannon and the restored Wisconsin rail car that carried the Ringlings across the country. Also in the Circus Museum: The incredible creation of Howard Tibbals, who, as a college freshman in 1956, set out to create a model version of a 1920s-era circus. The work of art took decades to complete, covers 3,800 square feet and features 42,000 pieces – including 3,000 spectators, 55 train cars and 7,000 folding chairs that actually fold. The property also includes the exquisite Ca’ d’Zan (“House of John” in Venetian), the 56-room mansion built by the Ringlings in the 1920s and designed to look like a Venetian palace. The basement of the house was flooded by Helene, and the HVAC system was still inoperable during my visit. Currently, only the first floor of the house is open to tour. Hurricane damage was apparent elsewhere on the property, particularly in Mable Ringling’s Rose Garden, which was destroyed by salt-water flooding. It will be replanted this spring, I was told. Art lovers could spend a full day lost in the Ringling Museum of Art, which is best known for its extensive collection of European works, including paintings by Peter Paul Rubens. The museum also has impressive galleries of Asian and Modern art. And new since my last visit: The Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion, with two floors of exquisite glass creation
SARASOTA FLORIDA Hurricanes Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Ringling John Ringling Mable Ringling Circus Museum Art Museum Ca' D'zan Travel Destination
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