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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is part of the city of

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

. 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 causeway 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 running f ...

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 Brothers Circus, Ringling Br ...

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 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 boa ...

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

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

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

Lido Key Lido Key (LEE doh KEE) 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 ...

and Lido Beach, to the south

Circus Ring of Fame

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. Honorees include Paul Binder,

Bello Nock Bello Nock (born September 27, 1968), often known simply as Bello, is an American daredevil and circus performer. Nock has been listed in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' for his highwire walk over a cruise ship. He has performed several ...

Nik Wallenda Nikolas Wallenda (born January 24, 1979) is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feat ...

, and the King Charles Troupe. John Ringling Statue

References

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