Of course you probably don't. It was once a briefly promising winter quarters for the big 4-ring Al G. Barnes Circus.
City-hood officially granted on Feb. 13, 1926.
But the vision of Barnes flamed brightly for only seven months before getting crushed in slow motion by a series of devious maneuvers to send it packing.
Barnes City rose on the edge of Culver City, in the shadows of movie giant MGM. Installed its own town hall. Soon Culver city wanted to expand, likely a ploy to 86 the lions, tigers and daredevils grabbing a lot of noisy attention. An affront to celluloid fantasies?
After a fractious public debate over the intruder, and even a vote that favored Barnes City 145 to 128, the courts stepped in and Al G. Barnes, said to have been "a victim of local politics, and one of L.A.'s shortest-lived municipalities," stepped out.
Ah yes, all circuses have to leave town sooner than later.
