Circus by the Lake

Monday, August 7, 1871

Thousands of residents flock to the lakefront at Randolph Street to enjoy the famed Old John Robinson’s Circus, Menagerie, Museum, and Caravan, which fills three large tents.  A fifty-cent ticket (half price for children) gains admission to the menagerie (whose animals are displayed in twenty-five gold and crimson cages), the museum, and circus.  Doors open at 6 tonight, with afternoon matinees as well as evening performances the rest of the week.  Among the top attractions are champion horseman Robert Stickney, child equestrienne Minnie Marks, and hurdle-rider Lewis Willis, not to mention Old Emperor the elephant, Billy the trained seal, and Conrad’s comical monkeys, as well as mammoth sea lions, monster camels, trained ponies, and educated dogs.