{"id":1437,"date":"2022-04-15T12:16:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T16:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.alumni.ncsu.edu\/?p=1437"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:39:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T20:39:13","slug":"under-the-not-so-big-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/2022\/under-the-not-so-big-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Under The Not So Big Top"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Stacey Altherr<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Editor’s Note: Howard Tibbals ’59 died on March 20, 2022, after this story appeared in NC State magazine. He was 86 years old.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarasota, Fla. \u2014 The Greatest Show on Earth may be gone, but thanks to Howard Tibbals \u201959, it lives in perpetuity\u2009\u2014\u2009in three-quarter-inch scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spread out over 3,800 square feet, Tibbals\u2019 creation\u200a\u2014\u200athe largest miniature circus replica in the world\u200a\u2014\u200afeatures more than 45,000 pieces that faithfully depict circus life from the era 1919 to 1938. There are tiny train cars, covered wagons, animals and performers\u2009\u2014\u2009and thousands of folding chairs. Under the four-foot-high big top are track-motion circus animals and high-wire acts on rotating poles. Tibbals even put himself and his wife, Janice, on the circus grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the charm is not just what goes on under the tent, but behind the scenes.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Part of the charm is not just what goes on under the tent, but behind the scenes. There\u2019s a dining tent, troughs to water the horses, a backstage area where performers put on make-up and costumes, and even a first-aid tent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tibbals, 85, spent decades creating the circus. Today it is housed in the Tibbals Learning Center on the grounds of The Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Fla. The museum is the former home of John Ringling, one of the original founders of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the memorabilia is administered by Florida State University. The center, built with a $6.5 million donation from Tibbals, opened in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore the Exhibit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n