While the keys around Sarasota were still largely undiscovered, it was Lido that John Ringling could see was the most special. Among all the keys, Lido remains so today – its three mile, hundred-yard wide beach on the Gulf is the region’s most beautiful, and arguably, most private. The rest of the island remains low density, native and natural. Ringling also saw the promise of St. Armands, today a circle of boutiques and restaurants where there’s music and events year ‘round – one weekend an art festival, the next a rare automotive club with a hundred relics on display.