Perhaps you’ve never heard of Dwight James Baum. But I’d wager a bag of peanuts you’ve heard of the Ringling Brothers Circus.
Five of the seven Ringling Brothers, known as the “Circus Kings,” began their rise to fame in 1870 with one traveling show. Over the following decades, they created an empire by expanding their own shows and acquiring others. They even purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus for $400,000 in 1907.
What does that have to do with Dwight James Baum?
He was the renowned architect commissioned by John Nicholas Ringling and his wife, Mable, to design their mansion in Sarasota, Florida—the circus’s winter quarters.
Baum’s Bio
- June 24, 1886 ~ born in Little Falls, New York.
- 1909 ~ graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in architecture.
- 1912 ~ opened his own firm in the Bronx, New York area.
- 1923 ~ became the youngest architect to win a Gold Medal from the Architectural League of New York.
- 1931-32 ~ won for “best two-story house in the United States (1926-1930)” from the American Institute of Architects (Bjorklund).
- December 14, 1939 ~ died in New York City.
Cà d'Zan
The estate, built by Owen Burns and completed in 1926, was named Cà d'Zan which is Venetian for “The House of John.”
Because John “turned every detail of its construction over to” his wife, (“a gift he gave freely”), the mansion is also known as “The House of Mable” (Moody).
The Ringlings lost their wealth during the Great Depression, and John bequeathed his beloved Cà d'Zan to the state of Florida. After decades of neglect, the mansion was used as Miss Haversham’s broken-down manor in a 1998 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
Today, after a lengthy restoration with a price tag of approximately $15 million, the estate is a museum and tourist attraction.
The mansion’s Venetian Gothic influence—such as the Gothic arches and terra cotta ornamentation—was inspired by a trip that John and Mable Ringling took to Venice.
But that isn’t the only architectural style included in Baum’s design. Visitors will also note “Italian Renaissance, Moorish, and Spanish-inspired elements drawn from different historic periods” (Ca' d'Zan).
Country Life titled their October 1927 feature article on the fifty-six-room mansion as “A Venetian Palace in Florida” (Ca' d'Zan).
Baum’s Legacy
In addition to the Ringling mansion, Baum designed several civic buildings, including the Sarasota Times Building (1925) and the Sarasota County Courthouse (1926). During that same time period, he designed more than forty Mediterranean Revival style house in Temple Terrace, Florida.
Baum wasn’t only a renowned architect. His other pursuits involved historic preservation issues, photographing historic buildings, writing articles, working as a consulting architect for Good Housekeeping, and designing the magazine’s building exhibit for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
Your Turn
Have you ever visited a historic home that left you speechless? What details or craftsmanship stood out most to you?
Ca’ d’Zan means “House of John.” If you could design a “House of You,” what name or theme would you choose?
Ceiling Mural: By MarissaSarah99 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110780641
Entrance Foyer: By Daderot - Own work, Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66521179
Front Façade: By HMSyume - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156306739
Front Gate (Original Gateway to the Residence): By Upstateherd - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120444812
Springfield Daily Tribune scan: By Unknown author - The Springfield Daily Republican, Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165190567
Sources
Bjorklund, Victoria Baum. “Dwight James Baum: The World’s Most Famous Architect from Little Falls.” Little Falls Historical Society. Accessed November 8, 2025.
Ca' d'Zan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca%27_d%27Zan
Moody, Laura. “Sarasota's Ca' d'Zan is filled with architectural beauty, and a great love story.” Fox 13 Tampa Bay. Published February 27, 2019. https://www.fox13news.com/good-day-tampa-bay/sarasotas-ca-dzan-is-filled-with-architectural-beauty-and-a-great-love-story
https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/writing-series/dwight-james-baum-the-worlds-most-famous-architect-from-little-falls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_James_Baum
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