taz_39 | Apr. 30th, 2017

After the last show on Sunday I chose to drive halfway to Hartford, to a town called Sturbridge. There were several "old fashioned" or "colonial-style" hotels in the area at a good price. I picked one and settled in. Neat wallpaper.

The next morning I decided to continue to Hartford and eat breakfast there. There was plenty of time...the train was not supposed to arrive until 2am(!) but I was crossing my fingers for an early arrival. I found an Au Bon Pain and enjoyed a bagel sandwich with smoked salmon, cucumbers, wasabi spread, herb cream cheese, on a dill and onion bagel.

To kill time I worked on more resumes for my friends. And then I made a trip that I've been meaning to make since joining the circus, and somehow never got around to it: visiting the Hartford circus fire memorial. (CLICK HERE to read more about the Hartford circus fire.)

The memorial is located in a not-so-nice area in the North End, behind an elementary school. I circled the school once, unsure about where to park, but when I pulled into the school's lot I saw that they had a pretty decent visitor parking lot. To get to the memorial I had to walk fully around the school via either the front or the back. There are playgrounds on both sides and recess was in full swing. I chose to go around the front, figuring if I was going to look like a creeper I may as well be as visible about it as possible.

On the other side of the school there was a pavement path leading to the back. It then became a gravel trail lined with markers to commemorate the tragedy that took place here 73 years ago.

I followed the path, reading each marker in turn. They spelled out the disaster minute by minute. As a circus employee, it made me feel uneasy to imagine what it must have been like. Every performer's worst nightmare. And looking across the open space behind the elementary school, it seemed like there were areas where the grass still wasn't growing back.

At the end of the path was a diagram of the memorial, showing how it marked the actual location of the circus tent on the day it burned down in 1944.

The main memorial stands where the center ring was on the day of the tragedy. It's a raised metal circle with a depiction of the big top etched on it, and the names of victims engraved all around it.

The circle is surrounded by a number of bricks, many of which bear inscriptions in memory of loved ones who perished in the fire, or express thankfulness for survival. I was especially touched by all the bricks thanking emergency responders.

This series of bricks in particular was very saddening to read.

At the corners of the brick plaza were metal diamonds inscribed with famous words, to offer some comfort in the face of a seemingly senseless tragedy.

Looking at the map again, I saw that there was supposed to be a marker for the entrance of the circus tent. It seemed to be partway across the playground in an area that had since been paved and painted with hopscotch patterns. I found the marker...I think? It took a while to find because there was absolutely nothing to distinguish it from the pavement.

Standing there and looking back at the center ring and past it to where the other end of the tent would have been gave me a sense of scale for the tent. It would have been HUGE. Back at the map, I was pleased to see that the bandstand was marked with a dogwood tree. The trees had been planted where tent pegs once stood, at the bandstand's location, and where the animal entrance portal had been.

I walked over there and stood where the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus band had performed on July 6, 1944.