Al G. Barnes Circus Program 1935 #5

This is a nice picture of the classic circus tent carried with a 30 car railroad show, 150' across with 50' between the center poles. This size seemed to be perfect to accomodate flying acts, steel arenas and a track big enough for Hippodrome races but most importantly allow space for enough seating to show a profit. Oscar Cristiani once told me that in the 1950's the Cristiani Bros. Circus did very well with a smaller tent but vanity dictated that they get a 150 since that was the size the Beatty Show used (their chief competetor). He said he had to admit that the new tent was a beauty but was dismayed to learn after all the money had been spent, someone pointed out that the Beatty Show top was a full 150 whereas theirs was only a short 150. Maybe Johnny Walker or Erik Jaeger could explain the difference.