There's a Chimp in the Dining Room!

Can you imagine all-night parties with entertainment by circus aerialists and chimpanzees performing during meals? These were mainstays of the John Ringling Towers Hotel. Located on the site now occupied by the Ritz-Carlton on Tamiami Trail, it was a hotel until 1957 when it was converted into an apartment complex. In its years of grandeur, celebrities often stayed at the lavish hotel, and visitors and diners enjoyed the circus entertainment, which included elephants, chimps, trapeze artists and clown performances. Ringling even had ropes, rings and bars installed in the Fountain Room for dinner performances.

The hotel was constructed in 1926 by Owen Burns and originally named The El Verona for his wife, Vernona. In the 1930s, John Ringling acquired the luxury hotel and changed the name. His nephew, John Ringling North indulged the hotel with all the trappings of their famous circus. From its earliest days, the hotel was the site of numerous celebrations, dinners, dances and became the focal point of many of Sarasota’s stellar events. 

The adjoining M’ToTo Room, named for the famed circus gorilla, was one of the most popular lounges in Sarasota…and greatly enjoyed by our parents back in the day. Named after Madame ToTo, the famous circus gorilla, the bar was hugely popular, one of Sarasota’s favorite and most colorful watering holes. Even during Prohibition, booze was plentiful, despite police raids.

The hotel was later transformed into apartments, and ultimately it was abandoned and  sadly, the 1926 landmark was demolished in 1998 after a failed court battle by the Sarasota Alliance for Historical Preservation to protect it. 

My wife and I have many memories of this once grand building…but not the chimps performing in the dining room! (Some of these things were before our time but have been passed down to us by our parents). Our memories are of our high school Cotillion dances, which were formal affairs that the guys hated (coat & tie) and the girls loved (formal gowns, long gloves, up-dos and heals!) And the memory of the wrecking ball demolition of this once grand building still weighs heavy...just like it did with the destruction of the Lido Beach Casino. 

But time marches on and the Ritz Carlton, which replaced the John Ringling building, is indeed lovely. It is such an irony that Ringling tried to build a Ritz Carlton on Longboat Key (The Ghost Hotel) and now the Ritz is on the site of his once popular hotel!

If you are looking for Real Estate in Sarasota, Florida, give me a call and we can meet at Jack Dusty's at the Ritz Carlton, have a drink and find the perfect home in paradise!


Here is a great video about the John Ringling Hotel and the M'Toto Room...Enjoy!