Circus Town Columbus : Discover Columbus

Discover Columbus

Apr. 15, 2006

Circus Town Columbus

The Circus House! Of course! The corner of Dennison and Buttles, I've heard it referred to as the Circus House but I never knew of the Sells Brothers, the Sells Brothers Circus or later the Adam Forepaugh-Sells Brothers Circus or Sellsville across the Olentangy from OSU where the circus wintered, etc.

Anyone who has been to Goodale Park or Victorian Village knows the Circus house by sight. The present owners of the home which was last on the market in 1997 were urged via the listing agent's comments in the MLS: "ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CHANCE TO BUY A PIECE OF HISTORY. " It said "Circus House" in the MLS (multiple listing service of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®) remarks.

This week, history columnist Ed Lentz tells the story of spring 1906 when Columbus was the headquarters of the best (although not the biggest) circus in the USA in This Week Newspapers.'

"Baby animals born in the winter were kept in the basement of one of the Sells Brothers' homes at the corner of Buttles and Dennison Avenue near Goodale Park."

Elephants and trains seem to be the essence of what made the Columbus area brothers' circus the best in the country. Columbus position as a rail hub and the Sells brothers' use of trains to move the circus in a time when most circuses were moved via wagon makes sense!

A December 2004 'This Week' column by Ed Lentz spoke of Columbus place in circus history and the Sells Brothers Circus fondness for pachyderms.

"In the years immediately after the Civil War, four enterprising brothers named Sells left the family home in what is now Dublin. If they did not run away to join the circus, they at least walked briskly to seek fame and fortune."

"And if one elephant was interesting, seven elephants in the same show were nothing less than astonishing. Or at least so it seemed to several generations of visitors to the Sells Brothers Circus."

"Each autumn, the circus would return to its winter quarters in the village of Sellsville across the river from The Ohio State University. And each spring, for more than 30 years, it would set out to see much of America and the world once again."

"Circus Town!" A history of the Circus House and Sells family story in the Short North Gazette by Nancy Patzer includes:

"During the late 1800s, the Sells Brothers Circus was one of the largest, most successful shows of its kind in the country. At the time the home was built, Peter Sells and his three brothers were among the wealthiest citizens of Columbus. As front man for the operation, Peter traveled ahead of the circus to book engagements, post advertisements and arrange railroad transportation for the massive operation" .... among juicier details of the Sells Brother's Circus, Circus House and the Sell's family history.

The photo taken in 2003 is on the Franklin County Auditor's website.

The Short North Gazette at www.ShortNorth.com is an "independent newspaper serving the Short North neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, since 1987."

ThisWeek News www.thisweeknews.com is part of The Columbus Dispatch. ThisWeek community newspapers serve and local community news in areas including Worthington, Dublin, New Albany, Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Gahanna, Northland, The Westside, New Albany, Westerville, etc in Central Ohio.

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View more entries tagged with: Columbus Ohio, Circus, History, Short North, Neighborhoods, House

Apr. 19, 2006 - It's a great house

Posted by Anonymous

The owner of The Circus House is a friend of mine. He's done a wonderful job of restoring it to residential shape. Previously the top floor was a flop house of some sort, the second floor residential, and the first floor being a daycare. The daycare entrance was through the front, the residential through the side car port. It�s all tied together again.

- Greg in Riverlea

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Apr. 28, 2006 - Thanks for the comment

Posted by Maureen McCabe

Greg,

Thanks for the comment, I don't know how I missed it until today. I am sure the house was a show place in it's day, and it is great that someone who is able to restore it to it's former glory purchased it.

I had heard about the daycare and the flop house, just never about the circus. I don't know why when I heard it refered to as the circus house I wouldn't have wondered about why.

Thanks again for the comment.

Maureen

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Discover Columbus is a site about Columbus Ohio. Originally named "Columbus Best Blog," it was never the best blog in Columbus Ohio. It was a blog about the best in Columbus and Central Ohio! Best restaurants, best real estate company, best schools, best neighborhoods..... written by Maureen McCabe a licensed real estate agent with Columbus Ohio's best real estate company, Real Living HER. Discover Columbus is just a site about Central Ohio.