SARASOTA, Fla.—Explore 140 shops, restaurants and businesses at St. Armands Circle. The marketplace is located on a small island in Sarasota Bay.
“St. Armands Circle was created by John Ringling in 1926,” said Diana Corrigan, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association. “It was an island—John Ringling was actually the first to build our bridge to come over to St. Armands Circle.”
The shopping center is made up of a circular park surrounded by local stores and businesses and is only a block-and-a-half walk away from Lido Beach. People can visit a wide array of shops and eateries. Check out the full list here.
A ladies night event is held around the Circle every third Thursday of the month from 5-9 p.m. There’s 35 stores that participate. Guests can enjoy champagne, wine, hor d'oeuvres and a 15% off discount.
In addition to grabbing a bite to eat and souvenir shopping, visitors can explore the Circus Ring of Fame and the Statue Walk.
The Circus Ring of Fame honors people who have made a significant contribution to the history of the circus. Dozens of plaques can be viewed around the park in the center of the Circle. Inductees include acrobat and aerialist Nik Wallenda, timeless clowns Lou Jacobs and Emmett Kelley and the greatest showman himself, P.T. Barnum!
Guests can find many beautiful statues throughout the Circle. “When John Ringling created St. Armands Circle, he brought a lot of his statues that he owned that were...made and shipped here from Italy,” Corrigan said. “So we have a Statue Walk all around the circle. Some of them had to be recreated because of the age and the weather, but it’s always really interesting to walk around and look at all of the statues that are here on the Circle.”
To learn more about St. Armands Circle, click here.
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