Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth
After P.T. Barnum's beloved American Museum burned down, he set out on a new adventure, one that would fill stands with eager customers sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the crazy and boisterous acts of Barnum's circus.
Barnum opened the Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus on April 10, 1871 in Brooklyn, New York.
'[It will be] the largest group of wonders ever known…My great desire is…to totally eclipse all other exhibitions in the world,' Barnum said. 'Greater than anything he had ever done.'
By 1874, Barnum would open the circus' permanent home: The New York Hippodrome, now known as Madison Square Garden, in Manhattan, New York City.
It was the largest public amusement structure ever built, seating over 10,000 and costing $150,000 to build.
In 1880, a foreign performance The Great London Show impeded on Barnum's American market.
The show's owner James Bailey and Barnum would combine shows in 1881 after Barnum claimed he was a 'showmen worthy of my steel.'
The Barnum and London Circus opened in New York in 1881. The show would travel 12,000 before ending their season in Connecticut.
The next season, Barnum and Bailey would introduce their first elephant Jumbo - what would become a symbol of the circus culture.
After only six weeks of performances, Jumbo would gross $336,000
