Behind this gate is the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. Its 21 galleries contain a collection of more than 10,000 pieces of art, sculptures and antiquities acquired by John Ringling from the turn of the 20th century until his death in 1936. His art legacy was willed to the city but the building remained closed for about a decade and was almost condemned until management was transferred to the Florida State University. After a $75 million restoration, it reopened in 2007.
