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| Historic
Site List |
Parks
Locations |
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Location: North side of Circle at North Blvd of Presidents |
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Decades
after conception, St. Armands circle has fulfilled John Ringling's
dream of a premier shopping district. Conceived during Florida's
real estate boom, St. Armands was part of the John Ringling
Estates development and the jewel of Ringling Isles, an ambitious
venture encompassing planned resorts, a casino, subdivisions
and a shopping area scattered from Bird and Lido keys to southern
Longboat Key. Designed by Architect John J. Watson of Ohio and
Sarasota Engineer Leon Pickett, the circle and surrounding development
were made accessible by construction of Ringling Causeway in
1926.
After its grant opening as the centerpiece of Ringling Isles,
St. Armands Circle lay neglected, a Depression-era victim of
the 1920's Florida Land boom. Sandspurs and weeds overran concrete
curbs and sidewalks, imported statuary and a bandstand. The
key reverted to nearly its state of nature when Charles A. St.
Armand had homesteaded in 1885. St. Armand, whose name was misspelled
in subsequent deeds, build a home, cleared one acre, and claimed
his land, 130 + acres, for #14. Little could he know his fee
would buy less than one square foot of leased area on today's
St. Armands Circle.
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