Friday, October 12, 2007

RBBB 1943 #1 (Bob Good Photo)


Scan000010307, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

"After Robert Ringling gained control of the show in 1943 he went back to the traditional six center pole big top with white canvas.
This is the new tent set up in Philadelphia awaiting the arrival of the show from Boston Gardens.
The stars might have been symbolic since WW2 was well underway."
Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 10/12/2007 06:30:00 AM

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What was the size of this tent?
BG Dallas

12 October, 2007 12:32
Buckles said...

In 1951 I asked George Werner how big the tent was and he said it was 206' across and middle pieces were 58'.
With five center poles, it was 438' long by 206' in width.
I'm guessing that the 1943 tent would have had 55' middles and about 190' across making it about 465' in length by 190'. The square footage would have been about the same.

12 October, 2007 14:46
Anonymous said...

Buckles,
I checked the Joe Bradbury Ringling articles in White Tops for the 1943 & 1944 seasons.
He states the big top was 200' wide with 5-50' centers. This would then be 200' x 450'.
He originally stated it had 60' centers but corrected that in the 1944 article.
Dom Yodice

12 October, 2007 16:39
cwdancinfool said...

Trivia question that I'm sure you or someone who reads this can answer - when did the Ringling show stop using a tent and move indoors?

12 October, 2007 21:40
Buckles said...

Last performance under canvas was given July 16, 1956 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

13 October, 2007 00:28
Mike Naughton said...

Buckles...can the blog conduct an informal survey: Which do you prefer--the white canvas or the blue canvas? Just for kicks.

I like the blue but respectfully acknowledge the importance of the white canvas in circus history.

I was brought up watching RBBB in MSG from the early 60's, so I wasn't part of the under canvas era.

13 October, 2007 01:09
Anonymous said...

The white was prettier before all the colors of "plastic" tents but the blue allowed lighting effects in matinees, spotlights don't show when the sun shines throug, on the other hand no lights needed.

14 October, 2007 03:13
Anonymous said...

The survey says:
I like white because they're so light inside. It's cheerier. But it not good if your act requires special lighting for matinees. I suppose the ideal combination is Brian Boswell's tent in South Africa; it's white on the outside and dark blue on the inside.

14 October, 2007 04:30

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)