The name, widely attributed to Winston Churchill, hinted that life in the USSR was secretive and very different from other Western, capitalist countries.

The Iron Curtain separated the Soviet Union from the US, Europe, and other Western states between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War in 1991.

The Soviet Union was believed to be brutally restrictive, but after Joseph Stalin died in 1953, there were changes to everyday life.

In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built, and a combination of curiosity and fascination with American culture began to build throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s, as reported by History.com

Some of this fascination was fueled by the US State Department, which sent popular American music to Eastern Europe.

Music like jazz gave people a chance to experiment with a new form of entertainment.

Soviet leaders banned rock 'n' roll music in efforts to keep Western culture from "culturally corrupting" Soviet citizens, as reported by Smithsonian Magazine.

"Style hunters" were basically the Soviet version of today's hipsters. They would listen to smuggled music and dance in hidden discotheques before the police busted them.

Fascination with punk style took the youth by storm, and punks would do anything to get their hands on even just a few seconds of rock 'n' roll, as reported by The Guardian.

In the 1950s, "bone records" were old X-rays printed on flimsy vinyl sheets that were used to share American rock music. The sound quality was awful, but it provided the taste of rebellion they were after.

Sports, and particularly soccer, were popular in the Soviet Union. When the soccer team won the European Championship in 1960, there were huge celebrations.

In the earlier years of the Soviet Union, Stalin's leadership had organized teams as a way for the state to maintain control.

While the government was no longer in complete control by the 1960s, they still used victories as a propaganda tool and claimed success whenever there was a big win.

As younger citizens stirred up trouble, members of the older generation continued to represent Soviet culture and abide by the communist lifestyle.

Public transport was a crucial tool to keep the republics connected. The Moscow Metro system was known to be the best-kept to flaunt socialist success, as reported by Foreign Policy Magazine.

Public buses were the predominant means of transportation.

On a normal day, adults would head off to work and occasionally browse a store.

Photographer David Hlynsky told Fast Company in 2015 that "very few products were branded with anything like the legendary trademarks of the West."

"These were generic products devoid of any accompanying mythology," Hlynsky told Fast Company.

Nikita Khrushchev, a former Soviet statesman, visited the US in the 1960s and tried to bring the concept of the Western supermarket to the Soviet Union, but it didn't catch on, Geohistory reported.

The production and distribution systems at these shops just couldn't keep up with demand, and most Soviet citizens continued to shop at small mom-and-pop stores.

Winter in Eastern Europe is known for its extremely cold temperatures, making daily commutes and grocery runs even harder.

During the summertime, there were trips to beaches, like those along the Black Sea Coast.

Even during the harsh winters, the Soviet government put on large displays of military power.

Every November, thousands would gather in below-freezing weather to celebrate the Soviet Union's anniversary in front of the Red Square.

Missiles were displayed to show the Soviet Union's military power and capabilities during the Cold War.

On December 18, 1942, the Pullman Company presented a luxury train car that had been rebuilt at the request of the US Secret Service, which had determined that the president needed a secure way to travel during wartime.

Roosevelt most often used the car to travel from Washington, DC, to his home in Hyde Park, New York. The president insisted on not surpassing a speed of 35 miles per hour when traveling aboard the Ferdinand Magellan, making his journeys less efficient and heightening security measures, per the White House Historical Association website.

He last rode the car on March 30, 1945, when he visited his Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he died a few weeks later.

During his time, the president rode over 50,000 miles aboard the presidential train car.

While the car was built with Roosevelt in mind, including certain designs that would allow him to use a wheelchair on the train, it was his successor, President Harry S. Truman, who used it the most.

The president, who, unlike Roosevelt, opted for a speed of 80 miles per hour, employed the car in his iconic 35-day whistle-stop tour during his reelection campaign in 1948, where he delivered 356 speeches from the back of the Magellan, per Architectural Digest.

By the time Truman's successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, took office, more efficient air travel was starting to replace rail travel, and the US Car No. 1 was used for the last time in 1954.

In 1984, Reagan brought the Magellan out of retirement for a one-day whistle-stop tour through Ohio during his reelection campaign.

The president traveled from Dayton to Perrysburg and stopped at five locations to give speeches from the rear platform of the presidential car.

In 1959, the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida, acquired the car, which had been declared surplus and donated to the Smithsonian — which had no way to store it — in 1958.

Since then, the car has stayed in South Florida, where it is now open to the public.

The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. A regular adult ticket for the museum costs $12, and tickets for the presidential train car cost an additional $10.

The car, which is 84 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 15 feet tall, was covered with over 1/2 an inch of nickel-steel armor on its sides and featured 3-inch-thick bulletproof glass windows.

It was also the heaviest train car built in the US. After it was refurbished for presidential use, the train car weighed 285,000 pounds, making it much heavier than modern-day war tanks, which often weigh around 100,000 pounds.

The car also had its name, Ferdinand Magellan, removed from its sides in an effort to conceal the president's presence, although its design often stood out.

Other security features included two escape hatches and a complex security protocol, which included diverting traffic on the rails to ensure that no train traveled ahead or behind the president for at least 30 minutes. Operating under the code name POTUS, the president's train always had the right of way.

The entrance through which presidents and their guests would've entered is at the front of the car.

The train's dedicated chef prepared the president and guests' meals inside this kitchen.

The kitchen was also equipped with a pantry and a full-size metal sink.

Near the kitchen, a chef and a porter had sleeping quarters that featured an upper and lower berth.

The presidential car's main cabin featured a 6-foot solid mahogany table where the president and his guests — often diplomats or foreign leaders — could gather for dinners or meetings.

Presidents and guests didn't have to sacrifice the White House's luxuries while they were on the move — the dining room had its own set of china decorated with the presidential emblem.

The 3-inch-thick laminated bulletproof glass windows were installed when the car was refurbished for the president's use.

The windows were sealed, so to keep the car ventilated there was a simple form of air conditioning in which fans pushed air cooled by blocks of ice.

The first of two guest bedrooms aboard the US Car No. 1, Stateroom D, included an upper and lower berth, where guests could sleep, and an in-room bathroom.

In these guest rooms, Truman welcomed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during his visit to the US in 1946, during which he delivered his iconic Iron Curtain speech.

Designed to accommodate Franklin D. Roosevelt's wheelchair, the president's room included a full-size bed, a dresser, and an in-room toilet.

Like most rooms in the car, it was also connected to a telephone, which was extremely rare at the time.

The presidential suite bathroom, equipped with a bathtub, toilet, and sink, connected the president's and the first lady's rooms, staterooms B and C.

The bathroom also contained an escape hatch, which was added as a security measure during the car's refurbishing.

Inside the first lady's quarters was a bed and a dresser, although she didn't have an in-room bathroom.

Located towards the back of the car, Stateroom A, the second guest room aboard the Magellan, featured convertible berths, like the other guest room, that could also be used as a breakfast, gathering, or office space for the president or his guests.

The upper berth could be raised into the ceiling, and the lower one could be converted into a sitting booth with a pull-out table.

The Ferdinand Magellan functioned as a White House on wheels, and was often attached to train cars dedicated to Secret Service, White House staffers, and reporters traveling with the president.

The US Car No. 1 was also often accompanied by two communications cars equipped with control consoles for radio broadcasts and telegraph communications so the president could be reached while he was on the move, per Atlas Obscura.

A slim, wood-paneled hallway led from the four staterooms to the observation deck at the rear of the car.

The observation room was also enlarged during the refurbishing of the car, allowing it to function as a secondary gathering room for the president and his guests.

Part of the car's security modifications included the addition of escape hatches, like this submarine hatch on the observation lounge.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, and among its many damages were some sustained by the Magellan.

Although minor, a small window crack shows how the presidential car has stood the test of time.

At the end of the presidential car was an exposed podium from where the president often addressed crowds.

During Truman's whistle-stop tour, he spoke from the podium repeatedly, often addressing crowds in different cities within the same day.

Inactive as the president's main form of transportation for over 70 years, the Ferdinand Magellan stands as a memory of America's past.

However, our tour guide pointed out that the car is still on a track connected to current-day railroads and can be requested for use at any moment by the sitting US president.

Although I doubt Donald Trump would want to travel aboard the historic cabin, a modern-day president going on his own whistle-stop tour on US Car No. 1 remains a possibility.

One of the seven Ringling brothers — five of whom founded the Ringling Bros. circus in 1884 — John Ringling became one of the most famous and successful Ringlings, partly because he lived long enough to enjoy the financial success of the family circus enterprise.

In 1907, the brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, which they would merge with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows, creating a monopoly in the circus industry that led to John and his brother Charles becoming some of the richest people in America at the time.

John Ringling grew his wealth by investing in booming industries like oil, railroads, and ranching. Despite amassing a considerable fortune, with his estate valued at $23.5 million by his death in 1936 — or $547 million in today's money, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics — John Ringling died with only $311 ($7,244 today) in his bank account, according to his nephew, Henry Ringling North.

Costing a reported $1.5 million in 1926, according to the museum, ($27 million today), Ca' d'Zan expands over 36,000 square feet with 56 rooms, including five guest suites and a service wing dedicated to staff.

The extravagant mansion served as John and Mable Ringling's winter home whenever they weren't residing in New York City or traveling. However, the Ringlings only enjoyed their residence at Ca' d'Zan for a limited time, as Mable Ringling died in 1929, and John Ringling followed in 1936.

At one point, John and his brother Charles Ringling — who later built a marble mansion north of Ca' d'Zan —owned a fourth of Sarasota, as reported by The Ringling.

Downstairs, the mansion's reception room, lounging room, breakfast room, dining room, great hall, and ballroom, as well as the kitchen and pantry, are open to the public. The mansion and the museum are open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Entrance to the mansion costs $45 for adults, $20 for children between 6 and 17 years old, and $15 for children under 6.

The colorful and intricate design of Ca' d'Zan draws inspiration from Venetian Gothic palazzos like the Ca' d'Oro. Its exterior and interior walls are lined with custom-made terracotta, and the windows replicate Gothic arches.

The mansion's name, Ca' d'Zan, translates to "House of John" in Venetian.

The entrance foyer, like much of Ca' d'Zan, is filled with furnishings John and Mable Ringling bought from estate sales.

The mansion and adjacent museum showcase 400 pieces bought from a Newport, Rhode Island, mansion following Alva Vanderbilt and William Vanderbilt's divorce, as reported by The New York Times.

The central court was meant to be the center of entertaining at the mansion. It features a 1892 Steinway grand piano and an Aeolian organ to soundtrack the Ringlings' gatherings.

Throughout the mansion, including in the central court, windows feature colored glass panels, which create a warm atmosphere inside the home and add layers of dimension to the interior design.

The grand ballroom's gilded ceiling features custom artwork by illustrator Willy Pogany.

In "Dancers of Nations," 22 canvas paintings depicting dancers of different times and cultures are arranged in octagonal frames.

The room gave diners views of the Sarasota Bay through colored-glass windows similar to ones in the central court.

Other cutting-edge technology in the mansion included an annunciator system that allowed guests to ring the butler's pantry for service.

The tap room where the Ringlings served their guests with wine and spirits features a terrazzo floor, colorful glass windows, and a bar and decorative glass panels purchased from the Cicardi Winter Palace Restaurant in St. Louis, Sarasota Magazine reported.

The painted plaster ceiling is inspired by Islamic design, per the mansion's audio tour. The room decorations draw inspiration from the Italianate aesthetic of the 19th century.

The wooden table had 20 leaves that could extend to host a large number of guests.

The elevator was one of the first ever installed in a private residence in Florida.

Separated bathrooms and closets, as well as an entertaining game room, are also upstairs.

The upper levels of the mansion are currently closed to the public as museum staff undergo repairs from damages sustained during Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

The mansion's water-facing terrace and dock are paved with imported marble tiles in a chevron pattern.

Standing on the terrace, visitors overlook the Gulf coast and can feel its cooling breeze, which once made the city of Sarasota famous as an "air-conditioned city," the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.

While the main entrance to the property was located on land, guests were often welcomed on the bayfront terrace and its waterside dock.

As of July 2025, the upper floors of the historic mansion remain closed to the public as restoration efforts continue on the property.

The mansion was heavily affected by last year's hurricane season, with its basement flooding and disrupting electrical functions, and it was closed to the public between September and December 2024.

As well as Ca' d'Zan, the Ringling estate, which expands over 66 acres, also includes the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

The museum, which houses over 10,000 pieces, opened to the public for select exhibitions in 1930. It opened permanently in 1932.

Two of the museum's 21 original galleries feature intact decorations from Caroline Schermerhorn Astor and her son John Jacob Astor IV's former residence on New York City's Fifth Avenue.

When the home was demolished in 1926, John Ringling purchased its interiors, including a grand salon and a library, which are both now on display at the museum.

The museum documents the evolution of the circus empire that built the Ringling family's wealth and legacy.

Whether it's the Venetian architecture, Gilded Age artifacts, or circus history that attracts visitors, the 66-acre Ringling estate and its extensive collections offer a unique and immersive experience, allowing visitors to travel through the extravagant displays of wealth of the turn of the century and the diverse worldly landscapes that inspired the design of Ca' d'Zan.