From the Washington Post …
On May 14, 1917, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus descended upon the nation’s capital on four trains stretching more than a mile. The Washington Post reported that a crowd of about 30,000 people gathered at the show grounds at 15th and H streets to watch the construction of the multi-acre tented city, which housed 1,370 performers and laborers, more than 1,000 wild animals, 735 horses and 41 elephants for the two-day stand. The capacious canvas tent could hold more than 10,000 people for a single performance.
Nearly 100 years later, the Ringling Bros. circus is staging its final shows in Washington this weekend, and then, the storied “Greatest Show on Earth” will shutter forever in May.