The Greatest Show On Earth Has Ended It's Run

Have you ever noticed how you tend to take a step back and say "Wow" when you hear that something that has been around for what seems like forever - long enough that it's not even something you think about - is no longer there. Well it's time for one of those moments because on the 21st of May after delighting adults and children for 146 years Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus put on it's final performance.

146 years, it's almost hard to get your head around that number especially when you consider how the latest hot whatever that's in today will most likely be gone in a month. Just goes to show I guess that some things really do stand the test of time, however as the saying goes "All good things must come to an end" which is why we now say goodbye to this historic part of American culture, but before the final goodbye lets take a trip back in time to see where it all began

P.T. Barnum & James Bailey

The time was 1818 when P.T. Barnum and James Bailey founded "Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, which upon Baileys death in 1907 was then purchased by the Ringling brothers. Already owning "Ringling Bros. World Greatest Show the brothers ran the two circuses separately until 1919 when they combined them creating what most of us now recognize as "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus The Greatest Show on Earth".

The Ringling Winter Quarters moved from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Sarasota Florida in 1927. Each year starting in 1927 until the early 90s the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus train could be seen bringing the greatest show on earth to towns all across America.

In the 1950s there was one gigantic train system comprising three separate train loads that brought the main show to the big cities. The first train load consisted of 22 cars and had the tents and the workers to set them up; the second section comprised 28 cars and carried the canvasmen - a circus employee who assists in the pitching and taking down of tents -, ushers and sideshow workers; the third section had 19 sleeping cars for the performers.

In 1967 the Feld family bought the circus and Irving Feld began making changes to improve the quality and profitability of the show. In 1968 the Ringling Bros. and Barnum  & Bailey Clown College was established and star animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams was added to the revamped circus.

It's a little sad to think that on the 21st of May the ringmaster addressed the audience for the last time with the traditional "Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of all Ages Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth!" but 146 years is certainly a good run and so many people will continue to have fond memories of their time at the circus.