30 TIMES • MARCH 12- mARCH 18, 2015 old timer Highs and lows of circus acts in Ridgewood and Glendale Recently, the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town with their animal acts and death-defying stunts. Today we turn the clock back more than a century to a time when the circus came to Ridgewood. Back in 1912, the Barnum and Bailey spectacle was under a tent rather than a large arena. The tents were pitched on large lots of land adjacent to railroad lines so it would be easy to ship lions, camels and elephants. More than 100 years ago, the circus would be set up along Cypress Avenue north of Myrtle Avenue on land that had been part of the Nicholas Wyckoff farm. The long railroad train with the special circus cars stopped near Wyckoff and Cooper avenues, where the animals were unloaded and walked through local streets. The circus coming to town was practically a holiday for children back then. One year, the principal of P.S. 71, located on Forest Avenue near Bleecker Street, gave the children a day off so they could watch the circus parade through the streets. The picture above shows a camel being led north along Cypress Avenue near Cornelia Street toward the circus grounds. Kreuscher’s Hotel, a landmark establishment in the area, is pictured in the background. Kreuscher’s raised a tent just for the occasion to handle the overflow crowd of customers attending the circus parade. The hotel was also one of the first places in Ridgewood to showcase moving pictures in its theater. Hotel staff cleared out a portion of its stable and used it to screen some of the earliest movies ever made. Most circuses in the Ridgewood/Glendale proved fun for the whole family, but one circus caused quite a panic one morning in Glendale in 2004, as a white Bengal tiger used by the New Cole Bros. Circus escaped from its cage at Forest Park and roamed local streets. The big cat was also blamed for causing a five-car pileup on the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Admission was 5 cents per person, a far cry from today’s ticket prices. As the area became more developed, Ridgewood could no longer accommodate the circus; by 1915, the greatest show on Earth moved to Manhattan. However, in 1917, the Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge sponsored a circus show held on a lot bounded by Summerfield Street, Stephen Street, Forest Avenue and Seneca Avenue. Over the decades, one form of circus or another came to town to entertain boys, girls and children of all ages. The Clyde Beatty and Cole Bros. Circus often visited Forest Park, setting up its tent near the famous carousel. One year, however, a circus mishap in Forest Park caused quite a stir in the surrounding area. On July 31, 2004, a 450 lb. Bengal tiger named Apollo — a feature act at the New Cole Bros. Circus, which had just wrapped up a six-day stint at Forest Park — escaped his cage and went on a stroll through the area. First putting a fright through picnickers at Forest Park, Apollo managed to wander to the Jackie Robinson Parkway. He darted into a westbound lane and caused a fivecar pileup; while the tiger was unharmed, four motorists — including an NYPD detective — weren’t as fortunate and suffered injuries. Police responded to the panic in the area and managed to locate Apollo in the area of Myrtle Avenue and 88th Lane. The big cat was lured back into the cage by his trainer, who baited him with a piece of raw meat. Cole Bros. Circus and Apollo’s trainer received fines for causing an animal nuisance and leaving an animal unattended. Five years later, the tiger’s owner — in reaching a settlement stemming from the pileup — agreed to pay nearly $1 million in damages to two injured motorists. Send your photos and memories of our neighborhood the way it was to The Old Timer, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, NY 11386-0299, or by email to editorial@ queenscourier.com. All printed photographs will be carefully returned to you by request. When elephants marched through Ridgewood When the circus came to Ridgewood back in 1912, children of all ages watched in amazement as wild animals such as elephants walked through local streets from a special train to the big top tent set up nearby.
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