AKRON, Ohio - Historic circus, railroad and model train memorabilia that entertained people for decades at Quaker Square will be sold by the University of Akron in a May 20 auction.

Items include what was called the "Greatest Little Show on Earth," an elaborate hand-carved circus collection created over decades by Akron rubber worker Robert Harned.

Harned began carving the collection out of wood from orange crates beginning in the 1920s.

The circus collections and hundreds of other items on the auction block were once displayed in historic Quaker Square, the original Quaker Oats factory. The former factory with its distinctive silos was converted into shops and restaurants in 1975, with a hotel in 1980.

Model trains, train equipment and circus collections were featured throughout the complex.

UA purchased the complex in 2007. The silos, with their signature round rooms, became a residence hall for students the following year.

The Quaker Square Inn hotel operated on several floors in the facility until 2013 when Quaker Square exclusively housed students.

The university sold thousands of items from Quaker Square, including model trains, miniature railroad buildings and circus memorabilia, in 2011. However, large circus and train displays were maintained in the museum on the main floor and in stores and restaurants open to the public.

The shops and restaurants, including the Quaker Square General Store, closed in 2015. Now the museum is closing.

The material is well-known to generations of Akron residents, the university said.

Much of the train collection and memorabilia was featured at the former Railways of America Museum in Cuyahoga Falls before moving to Quaker Square in the mid-1970s, the university said.

"If you grew up in Akron, you probably saw Robert Harned's circus, the 'Greatest Little Show on Earth,' somewhere as a child," Mike Szczukowski, director of materials handling for UA, said in a statement. "Same with many of the trains and railroad memorabilia pieces we'll have up for auction. The auction marks a rare opportunity to own a piece of Akron history, as well as a tiny bit of your childhood."

Young's Auction Service is handling the sale.

The sale will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 20 at Quaker Station, 120 East Mill Street. People can preview the items beginning at 9 a.m.

Here's some of the featured circus and railroad items and photos posted for the auction:

The "Greatest Little Show on Earth" by Robert Harned. Among the hundreds of items for auction include trains, clowns, rides, refreshment stands, side shows and hundreds of people and animals.

Vintage circus posters and reproduction posters.

Porcelain railroad signs.

Railroad lanterns.

Railroad crossing signs and signals.

Railroad luggage wagon.

General store contents including vintage telephones, typewriters, leaded glass windows, wall clocks, porcelain cookware, kegs, crates, stove and antique doll house.

Model trains, train stations and structures.

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