During the early part of the twentieth century, both the Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Brothers circuses used the railroad to efficiently transport The Greatest Show on Earth from city to city.  When the trains pulled into the station, elaborately decorated circus wagons were rolled off the flatbed carriages and hitched up to teams of horses.  Lions and tigers and bears were taken out of stock cars and placed in wagon cages ornamented with carved and brightly painted wood trim.  Inevitably, the ringmaster was at the front of the line with the elephants, bandwagon, and circus wagons behind him.  In this fashion, the circus paraded down American main streets providing a free spectacle and at the same time advertising an upcoming performance.

The handcrafted wood circus parade on display in the Open Storage Viewing Room  was made by Charles C. Knapp (1894-1963) of Albany between 1937-1940.  All 102 pieces were cut on a jigsaw or carved and then carefully painted.  The complete parade includes a swan shaped bandwagon with the musicians standing between the swan's wings along with a calliope wagon pulled by a team of horses.  The 24 wagons, numerous animals and clowns are no taller than 6 ½ inches.  Mr. Knapp worked for the Knickerbocker Press for many years.  His wife Helen presented the circus parade to the Albany Institute in 1989. 

Exhibition support for On the Way to the Big Top

is provided by B. Lodge Co., Inc.