Today In History: Philippe Petit Walks a Tightrope Between the Twin Towers

 I cannot do the first step not being absolutely sure that I will successfully perform the last. -- Philippe Petit, 2014. From 'Half-Man, Half-Bird': The High-Wire Artist Philippe Petit on Balancing Creativity and Discipline.

On August 7th, 1974, French-born high-wire walker Philippe Petit (b. August 13, 1949) achieved world-wide recognition for crossing the newly-built Twin Towers in New York City. Having walked without permission between the towers of Notre Dame in Paris (1971) and between the supporting towers of Sydney Harbor Bridge (1973), Petite dreamed of this performance when he first learned of construction plans for the iconic buildings whose height of 1,350 feet  would define the cityscape for decades. Petite planned his walk for months and obtained access to the World Trade Center using a fake ID so that he could rig up his ropes the night before.  Dressed in black and wearing his tightrope shoes, he started out at 7am and successfully crossed the  131 foot gap eight times between the towers in just 45 minutes, during which time he lay down, saluted the sky, and spoke with the birds -- to the fear and amazement of all those who watched from below.

Although Philippe Petit was immediately arrested for criminal trespassing and disorderly, the charges were quickly dropped on condition that he perform a free show for children in Central Park -- which he did, across near Belvedere Lake (formerly Turtle Pond) on August 29th. During this performance, he slightly lost his balance, but skillfully caught himself on the cable and climbed right back up.

Petit has long since made his home in New York, serving as the resident artist at the nearby Cathedral of St John the Divine, where he occasionally performs, and in a small town near Woodstock, where he practices on high-wires in his  back yard that has a custom barn which he built with 18th-century tools.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• The Daring Young Man on the Skyline Trapeze. (1974, Aug 19). Newsweek, 84, 80. 
• Jones, T.Y.T  (2001, Sep 24). The Man Who Conquered the Towers: High-Wire Artist Philippe Petit Dreams of Dancing Above New York One More Time. Los Angeles Times (1996-) 
• Touching the Void (2003, Jan 19). The Observer Magazine (1964-),  24-31. 
• Philippe Petit's Dream: Led Kids to Their Own. (2005, Mar 20). Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Yabroff, J. (2008, Jul 28). He Had New York at His Feet: Philippe Petit Walked on a Wire—Between the Trade Center Towers. Newsweek, 152, 50-51.
• Turan, K.  (2008, Aug 08). A Life in the Balance: A Frenchman's 1974 Feat Between N.Y.'s Twin Towers Makes for a Taut Documentary. Los Angeles Times (1996-) 
• Lacey, L. (2014, Aug 07). A Moment in Time Aug 7, 1974: Philippe Petit Walks Between the Twin Towers. The Globe and Mail (1936-) 
• Gross, J. (2014, May 11). 'Half-Man, Half-Bird': The High-Wire Artist Philippe Petit on Balancing Creativity and Discipline. New York Times (1923-) 
• A Love Letter to the Towers: Director Robert Zemeckis and Leading Man Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Their Experience of Making the Walk, a Film Based on the Story of French Aerialist, Philippe Petit's High-Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center in 1974. (2015, Jan 18). The Hindu (1881-2018) 
• Aguiar, A. (2024, Aug 07). He's Still Walking a High Wire: Philippe Petit, 74, Is Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of His World Trade Center Feat. New York Times (2008-) 

Tips:

• Gerstein, M. (2003). The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (First edition.). Roaring Brook Press. Curriculum ; GV551 .G47 2003.
• Hamilton, C. (2024).  Rapture. Columbia University Press. e-book.
• Mason, B. (2016). Provocation in Popular Culture. Routledge. e-book.
• Petit, P. (2013). Why Knot? : How to Tie More Than Sixty Ingenious, Useful, Beautiful, Lifesaving, and Secure Knots! (1st ed.). Abrams Image. e-book.
• Tait, P. and Lavers, K. (2020). The Routledge Circus Reader. Routledge. e-book.

Images:

• Recueil. Danseurs de Corde,  18th century print from the National Library in Paris, Wikimedia Commons.
• Poster Image: 1974- Philippe Petit - Hess Brothers, advertisement, Wikimedia Commons
• Twin Towers, circa 1993, Mariordo, Wikimedia Commons.

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