WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 4, 2019 31
Circus hijinks in Ridgewood and Glendale
BY THE OLD TIMER
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Back in 1912, the Ringling Bros.
Barnum and Bailey Circus 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 hotel was also one of the fi rst
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. Admission
was 5 cents per person, a far cry from
today’s ticket prices.
As the area became more developed,
Ridgewood could no longer
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 overfl ow crowd of customers attending the circus parade.
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
Summerfi eld 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 oft en 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
Photos from the Ridgewood Times archives
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 fi ve-car
pileup; while the tiger was unharmed,
four motorists — including an NYPD
detective — weren’t as fortunate and
suff ered 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 fi nes 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.
Reprinted from the March 18, 2015
Ridgewood Times.
***
If you have any remembrances or old
photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would like to
share with our readers, please write to
the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 38-
15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, or send
an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.
com. Any print photographs mailed
to us will be carefully returned to you
upon request.
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 fi ve-car pileup on the
Jackie Robinson Parkway.
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