When the Museum of Science and Industry Circus Exhibit opened in April of 1973, MSI president Daniel M. MacMaster called it “a spectacular addition to the museum's attractions” in a Hyde Park Herald article. He went on to say that it would be as popular as the Coal Mine, U-505 submarine and other major holdings.
Arthur M. Wood, chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Co., which presented the miniature animated circus, hailed it as “a part of Americana that could have been lost to future generations.”
Originally displayed in the great rotunda of the museum's east pavilion, suggesting a big top, the 22,000-piece circus collection showcased scenes of circus life of years past, both public and behind the scenes. Highlights included motorized dioramas, starting with the Ringling Brothers Circus Street Parade featuring twenty-six carved models of circus wagons, performers and animals, all moving on a long snake-like winding track. The Big Top, the menagerie, the sideshow and the dining tent were among the other dioramas, which were augmented by intricate circus signs, fun house mirrors, and interactive “peep shows” that allowed visitors to see themselves as a tattooed man, a clown and so on.
The circus exhibit was subsequently moved to a 3,000-square-foot space at the center of the museum, and Kathleen McCarthy, director of collections and head curator, said that everyone who comes to the museum—”tens of millions of people”—has walked through it.
They won't be able to in the future, however. The circus exhibit closed for good on Sept. 6, and the entire collection is being auctioned off on Sept. 24 by Potter & Potter Auctions on the North Side.
“The exhibit was a nostalgic look at circuses of yesteryear and, after 50 years, it was time to find a new home for it,” McCarthy said. “We wanted to use the space for newer technology, to tell more contemporary stories related to Chicago manufacturing.”
First up, slated to open by the end of the year and stay up at least a year, is a show about Mold-A-Rama, the Chicago-based company that makes machines that turn out injection-based souvenir molds on the spot.
McCarthy explained that the decision to replace the circus collection was made by an internal committee of the president and staff from across the museum to get a variety of viewpoints. “It's never easy to take down a beloved exhibit, but I think everyone was in agreement that it was necessary to keep the museum relevant and inspiring for our audience,” McCarthy said.
So much for donating collections to museums – this isn’t the first time this has happened nor will it be the last. Sad
Jan
don marcks too!
Covington connected, down the shute of shame and comes this from the windy city, which has grown tired of circus history and wants to give more space to today.
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