When the Circus Came to Seattle
Despite unseasonably dismal weather, Seattle crowds turned out in force in 1885 to witness John Robinson’s 'Ten Big Shows'—a massive traveling spectacle that promised wonder and a glimpse of the exotic.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Notwithstanding the wind and the disagreeable weather, immense crowds assembled yesterday morning to see the great free street parade of the Robinson's ten big brand-new combined shows. The procession, led by the gilded and musical car in which was seated the full military band, proceeded behind knights and trumpeters, and a line of glittering gilded wagons, heavy-maned horses, great golden chariots, bright with blazing silver, and had the gorgeous trappings of majestic elephants, camels, dromedaries, and zebras. The splendid stock of high-looking horses, the chariot and new, and the colorful, grand banners were unsurpassed, and it was conceded, as the remarks were heard on every side, that John Robinson 'beats them all.' There was room for 5,000 people under the tent, but notwithstanding this, it is estimated that several hundred people were turned away, being unable to find standing room. The menagerie is ten times larger than any other ever seen in America. Among its wonderful features are a giant elephant, a larger sea-lion, a Southern sea-bear, a giant giraffe—a wonder of nature with three distinct necks and three huge monster lions—a wonder, the Lilliputian cow, the celebrated tattooed female Fiji Anna, [and] female giants. We can cheerfully and heartily recommend John Robinson’s show as the best combined show in the country.
“There was room for 5,000 people under the tent, but notwithstanding this, it is estimated that several hundred people were turned away, being unable to find standing room.”
Long before modern arena concerts or tech-fueled spectacles, the arrival of the traveling circus was the peak community event for a frontier Seattle. This 1885 report captures the visceral, shared excitement of an era when local entertainment relied on the physical presence of the 'wonders' of the world right in our streets.
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