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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Sarasota in Sarasota County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain / Luke Wood Park

 
 
Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain-Side 1 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, July 24, 2018
1. Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain-Side 1
Inscription.
Side 1

Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain

Mable Ringling, born Armilda Burton on March 4, 1875, married John Ringling on 1905 and became a Sarasota winter resident in 1911. Mable, an avid gardener, created the formal Ca'd'Zan rose garden. In the mid-1920s, she became involved in many community organizations and helped establish the Sarasota Garden Club, becoming the first president of its Founders Circle. A hostess of its first official meeting, Mable presented a short paper on roses and gave a tour of her rose garden. On June 8, 1929, Mable died unexpectedly of acute diabetes, complicated by Addison's disease. In 1935 the Founders Circle decided to install a fountain in Luke Wood park in her memory. The fountain, flanked by two marble lions commissioned by John Ringling, was encircled by four concrete benches, hibiscus, and bougainvillea. In 2011, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation undertook the renovation project to excavate the fountain, recreate its missing center statuary, and return the original lions to the park. Original bog iron was unearthed and reattached to the brick stairs and top circumference of the fountain. A community-made brick mosaic that includes four roses was added as a tribute to Mable's love of roses.

Side 2

Luke Wood Park

Luke Wood moved to Sarasota in March

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1896 with his wife Annie. Wood purchased 70 acres as a 30th anniversary gift to his wife who selected Sarasota as "the place most desirable in Florida." On December 30, 1931, Wood turned over 12 of the acres to the city; the acreage was converted into a park with the assistance of the Federal Emergency Relief Act. Luke Wood Park became a special project for the Sarasota Garden Club which had supervising rights for 20 years. Local architect Thomas Reed Martin drew a plan for the park. When completed, the park included trees and plants, the Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain, a pair of marble lions, a bird sanctuary, a landscaped ravine, a 500-foot irrigation well, walking paths, along with 216 palms planted planted by the city. The Garden Club encountered problems maintaining the park due to the Great Depression and vandalism. By 1960, the park had been significantly altered by the re-routing of U.S. Hwy 41 through the middle. In the 1980s, it was altered again when the Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain was filled in and the marble lions and fountain's statuary were removed due to the construction of the Senior Friendship Center.
 
Erected 2015 by Sarasota County Historical Commission.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureArts, Letters, Music
Luke Wood Park Marker-Side 2 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, July 24, 2018
2. Luke Wood Park Marker-Side 2
Parks & Recreational AreasWomen. A significant historical year for this entry is 1935.
 
Location. 27° 19.749′ N, 82° 31.976′ W. Marker is in Sarasota, Florida, in Sarasota County. Marker is on Mound Street (U.S. 41) just east of South Osprey Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sarasota FL 34236, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Smally, Donald J. P.E. (within shouting distance of this marker); Payne Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Selby Gardens (approx. half a mile away); Mr. Grover Yancy (approx. half a mile away); Selby House (approx. half a mile away); Avondale (approx. half a mile away); In Loving Memory of of Sue Anna Kauffman (approx. half a mile away); Sarasota Terrace Hotel (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sarasota.
 
Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain in Luke Wood Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, July 24, 2018
3. Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain in Luke Wood Park
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on August 2, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024