Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus close after 146 years

After being a part of American history for 146 years, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus performed their last show on Sunday in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The decision came from its parent company, Feld Entertainment, after a long standing slump in ticket sales as the business became increasingly unsustainable.

The circus had been butting heads with PETA and other animal rights groups for a while. After much protests and prolong condemnation, elephants were removed from the performing schedule of the circus.

For ring master Johnathan Lee Iverson, the journey with the circus began early on as a 9 year old boy seated in the audience. The world is losing "a place of wonder," the New York Times reported the ringmaster, days before the final performance.

The circus which began in 1871 as as P. T. Barnum's Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome was bought by its current parent company, Feld Entertainment in 1967.