Clyde Parke's miniature Circus

In 1930, Clyde Parke lost his job and found his passion, carving a miniature circus. He was eight when he saw his first real circus and became hooked enough to try building his own tiny circuses.

When the Depression hit and Mr. Parke had time on his hands, he turned to his circus passion and began constructing a 1-inch-to-1-foot scale model of a three-ring Big Top Circus. He never stopped. Mr. Parke carved and mechanized acrobats, horses, clowns, animals, sideshows, wagons, barkers and concession stands for up to 18 hours a day, every day for 30 years. 

There's a 15-foot rigged canvas Big Top, menagerie, side shows, cook ten, blacksmith, shop, dressing tent, street parades, grand entry parade and horse tent. There are fifty horse-drawn wagons, one hundred horses, chariots and 60 menagerie animals. There's a barker, sword swallower, fan dancer, snake charmer, clowns and magician pulling rabbits from a hat. In all there are 2000 people including drivers, performers, roustabouts and an audience of 1500…and 98% are animated. 

Everything runs off a single one-half horsepower motor that ingeniously drives the belts and pulleys that swing the acrobats, move the animals and pull the Grand Parade at a speed of one-half mile every two hours!

The days of the tent-show circus with wagons and grand street parades are gone. So is the depression that inspired Clyde Parke to focus on his fantasy. In 1970, Mr. Parke donated his "Greatest Little Show on Earth" to the Memphis Pink Palace Museum, hoping, "children of all ages who see my miniature circus can form a picture in their minds of those "good ole days."