A Man Who Walked Between the Twin Towers of NYC

On the east coast of the United States, on one of the world’s largest natural harbors stands the City of New York. The city consists of five boroughs. The most famous is Manhattan for its skyscrapers. Once there stood two identical towers called the Twin Towers. They were the tallest buildings in New York City. Many years before its tragic fate, a much happier event had occurred at its top.

On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French artist at the age of twenty-five saw an opportunity right in front of him. He was a street performer, riding a unicycle, juggling balls and flaming torches. But what he liked the most was walking on a rope tied between two trees.

One day he entertained people in the park as usual. He paraded on a rope with a hat on his nose. After all the clapping was done and people were gone, Philippe stood on a robe facing two towers in front of him. As he stood between two trees and looking at those two towers an idea came to his mind, to walk between those two towers.

He already knew from his experience in his country that it would be impossible to get a permission to walk between the towers. Therefore, he had to plan everything secretly. As the construction on the towers was still in progress, he and his friend dressed as construction workers and sneaked the wire and equipment to attach it in a big container rolled on a dolly.

When they reached the roof, it was dark outside and Philippe’s two more friends were already waiting at the top of the opposite tower. They tied a wire to an arrow and shot it across to Philippe. The wire was securely tied on both ends, stretching between the Twin Towers.

With the first rays of sun, Philippe put on his black shirt and tights, picked up a balancing pole and stepped onto the wire. While he was approaching the middle of the wire, he felt the wind ruffling his hair and heard the birds singing above his ears. He felt happy and free.

He reached the second tower and turned right back. At the same time, a woman on the ground noticed him and raised her concern. A policeman noticed the distraught woman, who pointed to the top of the towers. Now, the policeman raised his concern and radioed his coworkers to send reinforcement in order to bring the man down.

As soon as more officers arrived, they rushed to the top of both towers. They yelled through megaphones for Philippe to leave the wire and step on the roof. But he walked back and forth and knelt striking a salute pose.

Almost after an hour of his performance, he felt satisfied and walked back to the roof, where he was arrested. The officers brought him to court. The judge was not sure what to do with the young artist. So he ordered Philippe to perform for the children in the park, which he did very gladly.

Source: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein