Show Stopper

Sometimes preservation can feel like walking a tight rope, and just when you think you’ve made it safely across, the rope suddenly gets longer. Take restoration efforts at the International Circus Hall of Fame, a National Historic Landmark in Peru. In 2019, the site landed on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered list, spotlighting urgent repairs needed at two barns built by the American Circus Corporation in 1922. A successful fundraising campaign raised money for a new roof on the north barn, which houses the nonprofit organization’s extensive collection of circus memorabilia. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the last shingle was nailed into place in early 2021.

But when contractors inspected the barn’s second-floor windows in December, they uncovered a new problem: water infiltration at the old sashes had undermined a horizontal support beam, threatening a devastating collapse that could endanger the barn and its valuable contents. Workers made emergency repairs to shore up the wall, and the group has launched another fundraising effort to raise $4,200 for a more permanent fix.

Two century-old barns and a handful of outbuildings are all that remain of a once-sprawling complex developed by Ben Wallace as the home base for his Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, a rival of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses. The site is now a museum devoted to honoring important figures in circus history and preserving an invaluable collection of circus artifacts, including vintage circus posters, photos, costumes, circus wagons, and a miniature replica of the 1934 Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.

The Circus Hall of Fame continues to raise funds for both emergency repairs and long-term restoration to make the landmark barns water-tight and climate-controlled. Donations to support the group’s preservation efforts can be made via Paypal. Learn more about the site at circushalloffame.com.