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RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS The Greatest Show On Earth! |
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LOCAL CITY & SCHEDULE - TICKET INFO.
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RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY
CIRCUS
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884. Ringling Brothers Circus eventually joined with the Barnum & Bailey Circus to become "Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, the Greatest Show on Earth". The Circus was founded by seven Ringling brothers, Albert (1852-1916), August (1854-1907), Otto (1858-1911), Alfred T. (1862-1919), Charles (1863-1926), John (1866-1936), and Henry (1869-1918).
The Ringling Brothers Circus began in 1884 using the
title "Yankee Robinson and Ringling Brothers", the
only time the Ringlings ever gave themselves second
billing. It was a small circus at first, conveyed by
wagons, and differed little from scores of other
little shows that transversed limited geographic
areas.
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Ringling Brothers trains and elephants |
By the late 1880s, however, the circus had established itself as
one of the largest and best-run circuses in the country. John
Ringling served as the advance man and Charles Ringling assumed the
role of the manager. True to the typical hyperbole of the day, the
official title of the circus was the "Ringling Brothers United
Monster Shows, Great Double Circus, Royal European Menagerie,
Museum, Caravan, and Congress of Trained Animals". What distinguished the Ringling Brothers Circus from others was its honest and fair attitude toward the public. Unlike other small circuses of the time, Ringling Brothers would not allow ticket sellers to short change customers, nor did they allow games of chance such as Three Card Monte and shell games on their lots. This reputation for clean dealing and good value brought them success, and soon they were able to make the leap into the ranks of railroad circuses. In 1889 two of the Ringlings went to Philadelphia where they purchased railroad cars and parade equipment from Adam Forepaugh, a venerable showman who had a show on the road since 1864. (Ironically, Forepaugh did allow all the crooked enterprises the Ringlings would not.)
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The significance of this change in transportation
was that henceforth the circus wasn't limited to
moving only 15 to 20 miles a night, and could now
skip the really small towns that contained a limited
audience in order to play larger towns day after
day, therefore, greatly increasing the average
revenue.
In 1907 the brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey circus and ran the two circuses separately until they merged them into one unit in 1919 when they also moved the winter quarters to Bridgeport, Connecticut. George Auger, a Ringling Brothers circus giant who used the stage name "Cardiff Giant", was to act in Harold Lloyd's 1923 comedy film Why Worry? but died shortly after filming started, sparking a nationwide search for a replacement. Charles Ringling
Charles Edward Ringling, born Charles Edward
Rüngeling, (December 2, 1863 – December 3, 1926) was
one of the owners of the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He
was in charge of production. His wife, Edith,
participated in the business and was a member of the
board of directors of the circus. Edith Ringling
continued in that capacity after the death of
Charles.
Charles Ringling bought large tracts of land in the
Sarasota, Florida area, including the Gillespie Golf
Course. He developed the Courthouse Subdivision,
which extended the business center of Sarasota
beyond the bay front. He donated land for a
courthouse to serve as the county seat for the newly
created, Sarasota County. He built the high-rise
Sarasota Terrace Hotel near the railroad terminus
and a bank through which he encouraged development
in the community. Ringling Boulevard, which winds
eastward from Tamiami Trail was named in honor of
Charles Ringling because of his many civic
activities in the community.
The winter retreat of Edith and Charles Ringling was built on Sarasota Bay in the Shell Beach subdivision platted in 1896 by Mary Louise and Charles N. Thompson. The Thompson's, associated with another circus, were instrumental in interesting members of the Ringling family about living in Sarasota. Their retreat was completed in 1926, the year he died. Included on the property was another gracious bay front home for their daughter, Hester, and her children. As well as being intended for large social gatherings and performances, the compound was designed to be completely self-sufficient, including staff quarters, farming, and livestock. The bay front homes are connected by a covered walkway that creates a transition between the two architectural styles. Within months of the completion of the construction, Charles died, but Edith Ringling and their daughter, Hester, continued to reside on the estate for many decades. The structures on what came to be known internationally as the Edith Ringling residence, and the Hester Ringling Landcaster Sanford residence are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a historic district that includes the retreat of Ellen and Ralph Caples, the retreat of Mable and John Ringling, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, as well. The homes of Edith and Hester often were featured in magazines and periodicals because of their architecture, landscaping, and interior design. The civic, musical, theatrical, and social activities of the women were of interest to readers also. In the 1960s, New College of Florida purchased the estate for development as part of its campus and uses the historic buildings for administrative purposes and special events. |
