The Circus World Museum is on the site of the former headquarters and winter home of Ringling Brothers Circus (1884-1918). It is located in Baraboo, a city of approximately 12,000 residents in Sauk County, south-central Wisconsin.
Above: Composite image showing a mural of important people from the local area on the side of a building in downtown Baraboo
The Ringling brothers purchased their popular rival, Barnum & Bailey Ltd. following Bailey's death in 1906. The two travelling circuses were run separately, until they were merged in 1919, forming Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the largest circus in the United States and infamously billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth”. With shrinking attendance, animal rights protests, and high operating costs, the circus performed their final show on May 21, 2017 and closed after 146 years.
The museum here in Baraboo has one of the largest collections of carved and painted circus wagons. Also, several buildings contain numerous exhibits on circus history. Known as Ringlingville, of the 25 Ringling structures that once existed here, 10 original winter quarters buildings remain today and all of these are designated National Historic Landmark Structures. These include the Ring Barn, Elephant House, Animal House, Baggage Horse Barn, Winter Quarters Office, the Wardrobe Department and the Irvin Feld Exhibit Hall. The museum’s W.W. Deppe Wagon Pavilion contains a collection of fifty restored antique circus wagons. The C.P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center offers an insight into current wagon restoration work, whist the Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center holds a collection of circus-related literature, as well as photographs and this is open, whilst staff are present. It is possible to take guided tours, which offer an insight into the history of the circus and how they prepared for shows. The site also contains a permanent big-top, the Hippodrome, which houses the museum’s daily shows featuring live performances, such as clowns, trapeze artists, magicians and horse riders. For further information, the official website of the Circus World Museum may be found Here. In Baraboo itself, the Al. Ringling Theatre is a landmark building. Built by Albert Ringling, it opened its doors in 1915 and has been operating continuously ever since. Some photographs taken from outside the Circus World Museum and Baraboo are shown in the thumbnail gallery below (click on an image to enlarge):
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