Circuses once drew crowds to East Sacramento
By LANCE ARMSTRONG, Valley Community Newspaper writer
from: valcomnews.com
The thought of attending a circus in East Sacramento may seem a bit odd to many locals today.
But in the long history of circuses in the capital city, people once arrived to the area in large numbers to attend circuses.
In September 1907, for instance, the Ringling Bros. Circus – half of the predecessors to the legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – brought their show to 31st (later Alhambra Boulevard) and M (present day Capitol Avenue) streets. On this 12-acre site, a 14,000-seat circus tent was pitched.
Among those participating in this circus were 1,300 men, women and children, more than half the elephants in America and 658 horses.
A 1914 article in The Sacramento Bee mentioned that Barnum and Bailey pitched their tent at 31st Street, between M and P streets for a then-upcoming circus.
Upon arriving in Sacramento, this circus’ animals, which included elephants, horses and camels, were unloaded from nearby trains prior to daylight and walked to the circus grounds.
Another circus was held at 31st and M streets on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 1922.
On these leased grounds, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Combined Circus presented its first Sacramento shows since the joining of these two notable circus companies. This emergence occurred in 1919.
Local media exposure
Announcements for the upcoming afternoon and night shows began appearing in local newspapers during the earlier part of the month in order to increase the awareness and anticipation for the event.
The Sacramento Star, for instance, ran an article about the circus in its Aug. 8, 1922 edition.
The article’s headline was directed toward younger Sacramentans, as it read: “Good news for youngsters; circus is coming to town.”
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