The big stop: Ringling Bros circus closes after 146 years

Ringling and Barnum & Bailey circus won’t be coming to town any more as ticket sales fall and pressure over animal rights mounts One of America’s oldest circuses, the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey, is to take down its big top tent for the final time, 146 years after it was founded in rural Wisconsin by five brothers: Alfred, Albert, Charles, John and Otto. The company blamed declining ticket sales, which had fallen further after they removed elephants from the act last ye