St. Armands Key is an island in

Sarasota Bay Sarasota Bay is a lagoon located off the central west coast of Florida in the United States. Though no significant single stream of freshwater enters the bay, with a drainage basin limited to 150 square miles in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, it ...

off the west coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is part of the city of

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

. The island is connected to the mainland by the

John Ringling Causeway John Ringling Causeway (also known as Ringling Bridge or Gil Waters Bridge) is a bridge that extends past the Sarasota Bay, from Sarasota to St. Armands Key and Lido Key. The bridge, built in 2003, is a segmental box girder bridge named after ...

History

A Frenchman named Charles St. Amand bought property on the island in 1893. His name was misspelled in land deeds, and this misspelled name is still used today. Circus magnate

John Ringling John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros World's Greatest Sho ...

purchased the St. Armands Key property in 1917 and planned a development which included residential lots and a shopping center laid out in a circle. As no bridge to the key had yet been built, Ringling engaged an old paddle-wheel steamboat, the "Success," to service as a work boat. John Ringling financed the construction of a bridge connecting the key to the mainland and became the first person to drive across it in 1926.

St. Armands Circle

St. Armands Key features a large traffic circle with a small park in the center. The traffic circle is known as St. Armands Circle or "The Circle." The area is largely commercial, containing more than 130 stores and restaurants. The circle contains many restaurants, tobacco shops, clothing stores, and other retail outlets. The Circle also features a statue walk that features works originally purchased by John Ringling. Ringling's love of fine art inspired The Save Our Statues project which was undertaken during 2007 and completed in early 2008. Additional beautification efforts including on-going maintenance of the statues and landscaping generally consistent with John Ringling’s 1920s landscape plans. St. Armands Circle is also home to the Circus Ring of Fame. Over 150 large bronze plaques encircle the park with the names and histories of performing artists and influential executives recognized for achievement in circus arts and culture. St. Armands Circle branches off into different directions with the shops on the outside of the circle: *To the north, State Road 789, which goes to

Longboat Key A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

* John Ringling Boulevard to the east, which goes to the city of

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

and intersects U.S. 41 which heads north to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport *

Lido Key Lido Key is a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, Florida, in the United States. It is part of the city of Sarasota and is connected to mainland Sarasota by John Ringling Causeway. Nearby keys To its north is Longboat Key; to its east are ...

and Lido Beach, to the south

References

{{authority control Islands of Florida Islands of Sarasota County, Florida Sarasota, Florida