March 16, 2005
Big Elephants on Parade
I saw a poster today that said the Ringling Bros. circus is coming to NYC and was wondering when the elephants will be walking through the Midtown Tunnel. Where is a good place watch this?
David
The last time a bunch of elephants came to midtown, thousands of political activists lined the streets, security forces were on high alert and hundreds of protesters - and more than a few unsuspecting bystanders - were hauled off to a holding pen near the West Side Highway.
Expect a calmer scene on Tuesday, March 22nd when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus parades its elephants through the Midtown Tunnel, across 34th Street to Madison Square Garden. You can expect the pachyderm parade to emerge from the tunnel at around midnight, but bundle up and get there early. With the decision to close the tunnel to vehicular traffic up to the DOT and not Ringling Bros., the elephant walk can begin as early as 11:30 PM or as late as 12:30 AM. (Or as late as 11:30 PM or as early as 12:30 AM, depending on your perspective. Last year's walk began well after midnight.)
A circus rep told Gothamist that the annual tradition was borne more out of necessity than PR: there is simply no other way to get the elephants off of their trains and into the city.
The parade is, of course, free to night owls and kids of all ages who want to stay up past their bedtime, but for tickets and other information about the actual circus, which runs from March 24th through April 10th at MSG, visit the official Ringling Bros. website.
Bluejake has pictures of last year's elephant walk.
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Ahh..there is nothing like watching charasmatic megafauna parade around and do stupid tricks for our entertainment.
The elephants actually walk pretty fast. I'd say it's more of a jog. But watching the elephants isn't as fun as watching the stampede of elephant-watchers swarming the streets.
do they do a parade when they leave? They would have to do the same thing on the way out right?
From a reader:
Would you tell David that the best place to watch the elephants is at The Barking Dog on 34th Street between Third & Lex. Though it's on the wrong side of the street, there's a party there thrown by the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association: hats, clown noses, trunks, munchies, cash bar, etc. Last year, there were snowball fights and snowmen and, oh yeah, elephants.
They do the same thing when they leave, but nobody seems to pay any attention. We watched them exit last year and it was great - practically nobody there, just a line of elephants walking across 34th St and some very startled pedestrians.
I used to love the circus as a child- how often can a city kid see big cats and elephants that close? Then i grew up and learned how horrible the "capturing & training" is to these intelligent animals overseas and have boycotted them ever since. Being caged and travelling is no life for an animal.
When do they march out of the city, since I missed them coming in last week?
I saw a poster that said the Ringling Bros. circus is coming to NYC on the 23rd. I was wondering when the elephants will be walking through the Midtown Tunnel.
Elephants deserve to be in the wild, not to be walking line in line on the streets with a man with a bullhook!
I think the elephants could have done a better job. I was disappointed with their lack of energy. They seemed not to be into it at all. They just marched along. This is supposed to be a circus, a privilege to be in the greatest show on earth, and they were acting like they didn't even want to be there.
Fine with me, find new one's. If your attitude is like that, I'm sure there are plenty more lined up waiting for the chance.
Anyone know when they leave the island? I expect it's the same kind of parade, right? But does anyone know the date? The circus ends tomorrow.