Ricketts' Circus
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
America's first circus building was opened here at 12th and Market Streets, April 3, 1793. On that day the English equestrian John Bill Ricketts gave America's first complete circus performance. President Washington attended his show later that season.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On April 3, 1793, the English equestrian John Bill Ricketts opened America's first purpose-built circus building at 12th and Market Streets and gave the young nation its first complete circus performance. Blending daring horsemanship with acrobatics and clowning, Ricketts introduced a form of popular entertainment that would sweep the country. His shows drew the era's most famous spectator: President George Washington attended later that first season.
Why it matters
It marks the American debut of the circus, a distinctly popular art that would become a beloved fixture of the nation's cultural life for generations.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer0.4 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.4 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.5 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.5 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Visitor Center0.5 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall0.6 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Reading Terminal0.1 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.2 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.5 mi away
- President's House0.5 mi away
- Liberty Bell0.5 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Universal Sphere0.6 mi away
Food & drink
- Burger King0.3 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory0.4 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe0.4 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca0.4 mi away
- Park’s Salad Bar0.4 mi away
- Lamberti Pizza & Market0.4 mi away · 707 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- ROOST East Marketnearby
- Loews Philadelphia Hotelnearby · 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Canopy by Hilton Philadelphia Center Citynearby · 1180 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtownnearby · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel0.1 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.1 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John Bill Ricketts
- · George Washington
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
PSFS Building
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2005
Completed in 1932 at the depths of the Great Depression, the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building rose as America's first International Style skyscraper—a sleek tower of glass, steel, and stone that rejected the ornate columns and cornices then expected of a bank. Designed to broadcast modernity and stability, it embraced cutting-edge structural engineering, high-speed elevators, and air conditioning, announcing that the future of American architecture had arrived on Market Street.
Dr. Constantine Hering (1800-1880)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2015
Dr. Constantine Hering, a German-born physician, settled in Philadelphia and became the leading figure in American homeopathy during the 19th century. He helped establish the country's first homeopathic medical society and its first homeopathic medical college, and he authored foundational texts still cited in the field. From a home office on this site he pursued the research and teaching that shaped a major alternative medical movement.
Oldest Photograph
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1989
Only weeks after Louis Daguerre unveiled his photographic process in France, an American set out to try it for himself. Around September 25, 1839, Joseph Saxton of the U.S. Mint rigged a cigar box and a crude lens to capture an image of Philadelphia's Central High School. The small, faint picture that resulted is the earliest surviving photograph made in the United States.
Medical Library Association
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2015
In 1898, at the close of a century that had transformed medicine into a science, a small group of American and Canadian physicians and librarians met in Philadelphia to solve a stubborn problem: doctors could not easily reach the reliable, up-to-date medical literature their patients' lives depended on. Their answer was the Medical Library Association, the world's oldest body of its kind, dedicated to organizing and sharing trustworthy medical knowledge. Among its founders stood the celebrated physician Sir William Osler and the librarian Margaret R. Charlton, pairing clinical prestige with the emerging profession of medical librarianship.