The Circus is always in Shelburne

I wanted to continue posting about my trip to Shelburne Museum last fall. Next stop was the Circus Building and carousel, favorite attractions for families visiting the Museum.  I took this photo after leaving the Round Barn.

The fanciful, horseshoe-shaped Circus Building (on the left in photo) was specifically designed to showcase the hand-carved miniature Arnold Circus Parade, which stretches nearly the full length of the building’s 518 feet.

An operating vintage carousel operates just outside the Circus Building (weather permitting) between May 1 and October 31.

I have included a map of the Shelburne Museum grounds. My first post was about the Round Barn located at the bottom center of the map. The Circus Building and Carousel are just to the West of that.



The spruce and cedar Circus Building was conceived in the 1950s, completed in 1965, and completely renovated in 2008.  The Circus Building is also where you will find enchanting, hand-painted carousel figures—horses, tigers, giraffes, and more—made by the renowned Gustav Dentzel Carousel Company.

Among the most popular exhibitions at Shelburne Museum are two hand-carved wood circus models: the Arnold Circus Parade and the Kirk Brothers Circus.

Arnold Circus Parade

The Arnold Circus Parade was made between 1925 and 1955 and forms a parade more than 500 feet long. The 4,000 one-inch-to-one-foot scale figures include clowns, acrobats, animals, and circus wagons, evoking the heyday of the circus era.

Parade on left and carousel figures on right...


Carousel Lion...


Albino camel from parade...


Carousel Stags...



Carousel Tiger...


View of the outdoor Carousel from about 259 feet (halfway for the no-math people)


Parade figures....



Carousel horse with a strange poster behind it...


My photo of a photograph  of many horses pulling a trailer from the collection of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo Wisconsin...


The miniature version of the train in the photograph...


This lion does not look like a carousel figure but it was real nice and intricate...

Shelburne Museum has more than 500 circus posters dating from the 1830s to the 1960s. The imaginative, brightly colored posters advertise Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Brothers, and other major shows. Another highlight of the circus collections is a remarkable archive of photo negatives by Elliot Fenander. Taken in the late 1960s, these photographs document the circus during a period of decline in a culturally turbulent era.


Kirk Brothers Circus

The Kirk Brothers Circus is a miniature three-ring circus, complete with an audience, comprised of more than 3,500 pieces. Edgar Kirk fashioned the figures over a period of forty years using only a treadle jigsaw and penknife.

My photo includes reflections of some of the visitors at Shelburne.


I really enjoy seeing the parade figures, 518 feet is a long way with lots to see. I vaguely remember seeing this when I was a kid, not sure if it was a school function or with family.It is still pretty impressive as an adult.

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