Greetings Family and Friends,
Actually, the circus is always in town in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The town is the home of Circus World, part of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Circus World preserves and exhibits artifacts, like posters and wagons, as well as structures from the golden age of the American circus. In addition, to the museum aspect, Circus World provides circus performances during the summer (mid-May through end of August). See the video to the right for a little snippet from under the big top.
The Circus at Circus World
During the spring (mid-April through mid-May) and fall (most of September), the museum and grounds are open but have no performances. During the winter, the site is closed. Why Baraboo and this particular site? Well it was the homebase for the Ringling Bros Circus from 1884 to 1918.
The museum begins in the modern building which serves as the entry point for the site. The initial collections exhibited are of the posters that were used to announce a circus was coming to town. The plastering of the posters all over a town were one of the functions of the advance team for a circus. In the first part of the photo gallery below, amongst the pics of posters, there are a couple for western performances – Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.
There are a number of superbly well done dioramas spread over a few buildings. One is of the train consist needed to move the Ringling Bros Circus in 1947. The numbers involved are mind numbing not just for the trains involved but the people, meals, etc. And this was done for each stop – 78 dates for the season. Each stop was for only a single day and then onto the next location. Quite simply a lot of logistics on a continual basis. The other diorama of great interest to me was the series of nine scenes portraying the evolution of the “Greatest Show on Earth” over 100 years. Look for the photos with the scenes encapsulated in a decorative gold frame.
The biggest source of pride at Circus World is their collection of circus wagons. They have collected, refurbished, preserved, and exhibited these wheeled treasures since opening back in 1959 and now have over 260 wagons. I did not photograph all of them but rather a hopefully nice sample. In fact, one of the reasons I did not photograph more of them is that the big top performance was about to start.
Unfortunately on the day of my visit, the weather was inclement as in wet. The performance under the big top still happened but the outdoor aerialist show featuring the trapeze artists was cancelled. The big top show featured 7 or 8 performances and lasted well over an hour. I only took a few photos and the video due to running out of battery while under the big top.
That’s it for now. As always, feel free to share this link with anyone who expresses an interest. Next stop puts me on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Until later,
Papi
I don’t remember but are you going to the Pro Football HOF on your trip? Also I was wondering if you’re going to travel through Iowa on your way home did you ever given thought of stopping at the Field of Dreams?
Hey Steve. Yes, Canton is on the list as well as Cooperstown. I considered Field of Dreams but opted against as me and cornfields don’t mix allergy-wise. My big thing in Iowa which I already did was the John Wayne Birthplace Museum. On the way back to Colorado will be taking a little more southerly course through Missouri as I want to stop in Kansas City – priority one there is the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Prior to that sport-wise, planning on making a stop in Indianapolis at the IMS Museum.
The open-air lion carts are fascinating. Must’ve been a challenge getting those loaded.
Hey Nat. I’m just guessing that it was either the big cats were just like little kitties or it was a job for the new guy.