Costumed sorority members participate in the Northwestern Circus parade. Courtesy of University Archives.
Northwestern Circus
"In between the tents the crowd jostled and laughed. Barkers in fantastic costumes rivaled each other in advertising their attractions.
"Bewitching girls in German costume sold pretzels and sandwiches and enticed crowds to the German restaurant. The candy, lemonade and ice-cream booths were surrounded by a continual throng, until the demand exceeded the supply and the business stopped.... Into the retreat of the gypsy fortunetellers went anxious or expectant faces, and out came smiling or crestfallen ones. The fun grew fast and furious."
This is not an account of a country fair but a description of the 1910 Northwestern Circus that appeared in that year's Liberal Arts syllabus. By 1932, the last year it was held, "The World's Great Collegiate Circus," as it was billed, was complete with a parade, a midway, sideshows, trapeze acts, and even the occasional elephant.
Introduced in 1908 by the YWCA as a fundraiser for the University Settlement, the circus (then called the County Fair) was held in Willard Hall, where "there was little room for stunts and more attention was given to the booths where dainty eatables and Christmas gifts were sold." In 1910, the YWCA joined forces with its counterpart men's organization, changed the event's name and its venue (to Patten Gymnasium) and expanded the program to include a circus, a vaudeville show, and "the famous Red-headed Band."
The circus was held every year except 1918, during the nation's entry into World War I. By the 1920's, the circus was a highly anticipated and well-choreographed annual fundraising event that brought together the University community with socialites from Chicago and the North Shore.
In the 1920's and early 1930's, fraternities and sororities organized most of the circus. It grew so large that it took a board of 48 students and almost an entire year's planning to pull it off. In 1931, a huge three-ring "tent" show was constructed in Patten Gymnasium.
Legend has it that 1932's circus was the biggest and best ever. It was also the last. Before the big top folded and the last elephant left the ring in Patten Gymnasium, the administration canceled future circuses because planning the event took too much time from the real purpose of the University.