On August 7, 1974, something happened in New York that people have been discussing for a long time. What can I say, those events became the basis for several books and films. And to see what was happening, the townspeople had to lift their heads up. There, at a height of 411 meters, a man with a long pole in his hands walked along a cable stretched between the newly erected buildings of the World Trade Center. Thousands of townspeople watched the daredevil and the madman. The tightrope walker had no insurance! Meanwhile, this recklessness had its own, long and interesting history.
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Philippe Petit was born in France in 1949. From childhood, the boy fell in love with all sorts of tricks and eccentricities – they were much more interesting than boring studies. While peers read textbooks, Philip practiced with playing cards and ping-pong balls. By the age of 18, the young man changed 5 schools, but he clearly learned his skills in the wrong place. Petit began to work in the circus, showing his tricks as part of a traveling troupe. But at the age of 16, he discovered a new passion for himself – tightrope walking. He liked it so much that Petit decided not only to master a new profession, but also to become the best in the world in it.
It turned out that you can not only walk on a tightrope, but also do a number of tricks. It was easy for Philip to keep his balance, because he perfectly controlled his body. And the higher the rope, the more interesting!
And when Philip was 17 years old, he saw an interesting note about the construction of the world’s tallest skyscrapers – the towers of the World Trade Center. Why not get there? So the young Frenchman had a dream.
To achieve it, skills had to be carefully honed. But this hobby did not feed well. The young guy was forced to earn his living with frank small things, performing with tricks and juggling at fairs, and sometimes right even on the streets. The first high-profile performance of Philippe Petit took place in 1971, when he was only 22 years old. The guy walked along the rope stretched between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral.
The passage was repeated several times, besides, the daredevil showed the admiring public a couple of his tricks.
The police arrested him, but soon released him. It was difficult to substantiate the corpus delicti.
In 1973, Philip ended up in Australia as a participant in the international festival of magicians and tightrope walkers. Communicating with friends, the Frenchman received an offer to create something similar to a performance at Notre Dame de Paris in Australia. The idea quickly gained supporters and sponsors. A week later, a rope was stretched between the pylons of the bridge across Sydney Harbor, along which a young Frenchman walked. Traffic on the bridge stopped – everyone looked at the daredevil with bated breath. Petit has gained some celebrity. But that was clearly not enough for him.
In January 1974, Philip arrived in New York. There were still 3 months before the official opening of the twin towers, but reconnaissance was required. Philip took with him a friend, photographer Jim Moore. Together they made their way to the roof of an unfinished skyscraper. There, Philip pointed to a nearby building and told a discouraged comrade that he was going to go there by cable. In Paris, a postcard was sent to friends with a photo of the twin towers and a drawn line between them with the question: “Do you understand what I mean?”.
Returning home, Petit begins to plan his daring action, a real “artistic crime.” Of course, everyone dissuaded him from this. But Philip was already immersed in his dream. He collects all possible information about skyscrapers by studying photographs and articles. And in April 1974, the guy again goes to New York. There he begins the conquest of the city with all the same tricks and street juggling. And the twin towers – here they are, so close. Philip circles them, photographing the entrances and exits, studying the guards’ routes and their work schedules. Almost all the money he earned, he gave without hesitation for the rental of a helicopter, which flew over the towers. The plan required details and photographs of the roofs. It turned out that on windy days even towers sway, and gusts can throw a person off the roof, not like from the cable. The presence of a police station in the basement of the northern building complicated the task.
Philip quickly realized that this task would be much more difficult than what he had faced before. And it’s not all about height. Notre Dame de Paris and the Sydney Bridge were public spaces that were easy to get into. But to organize such an action on the roof of the World Trade Center is completely different. Outsiders cannot get there because of the security, many electronic locks, as well as policemen with dogs. The plan to break into the roof began to look more and more like a plan to rob a bank.
The next stage of preparation took place again in France. Philip built a model of towers at home, consulted with professionals on how best to throw the rope and pull the rope. A team of like-minded people also gathered, each of whose members was ready to participate in the implementation of a daring plan. Philip himself did not stop training and honing his skills and tricks, bringing them to impeccable performance. And so the team arrived in New York in May 1974.
The date of the performance was postponed several times, finally, on August 6, Philippe arrived at the WTC buildings with six assistants in an unmarked van. The guys were divided into two teams, dressed as loaders. False documents and invoices were used to enter inside. I must say, the team was lucky – in the bustle of moving, no one paid much attention to it. But the equipment weighed a lot – only a steel rope about 200 kilograms, and another 25 kilograms – an eight-meter pole to maintain balance. But at the same time, everyone’s heart was pounding, it seemed that at any moment the police could reveal the deceivers. And at night, both groups climbed onto the roofs. Underfoot lay New York City, never falling asleep metropolis. With the help of a bow and arrows, a rope was thrown across the abyss, and a heavy cable was passed along it to the other side. The work was completed only in the morning.
And so Philippe Petit stepped onto the steel cable. The first few steps were not easy – the channel was not tight enough, but it was no longer possible to retreat. Philip decided that the tension was safe enough. His friends were standing on the roofs, and a crowd had gathered below – the performance began! It lasted for 45 minutes. During this time, the Frenchman walked the distance between the roofs not one, but whole 8 times! Petit tried to seal the exciting moments in his memory. And he did not just walk, but also danced, sat on a rope and even lay on it. And at one moment, Philip even looked down, knowing that he would not have such an opportunity again. But for a tightrope walker, this is considered extremely dangerous.
The insane and nerve-wracking spectacle fascinated – the spectators waved to the tightrope walker, worrying about the fate of the one walking without any insurance over the abyss along a thin cable.
The police were waiting on the roof of Philip, trying to stop him: “We will cut the rope! We’ll shoot you with a helicopter!” And any of these actions would have killed the tightrope walker. When he realized that it was time to stop testing the patience of the “gods of tightrope walking”, he ended his speech. As soon as Philip stepped into the hands of the police, it began to rain …
Below, he was met with real glory in the face of reporters and new fans. Of course, the Frenchman was released, accused only of petty hooliganism and asked to perform for free for children in Central Park. And the next day, all the leading newspapers of the world wrote about the tightrope walker. Petit received many commercial offers: to sell the rights to the film, to write a book, to appear in commercials. But after all, Philip was simply fulfilling his dream, and not chasing wealth or cheap fame.
Philippe Petit’s crazy show brought him fame and many famous fans and friends. The Frenchman stayed in New York, wrote several books about himself and his hobby. His story formed the basis of two films, a documentary and a feature.
Philippe Petit’s speeches are a clear proof of how faith in the goal and one’s own strengths help to realize an unrealizable dream. It is possible for a person to be where it seems impossible. And even the fear of death at such a moment fades into the background. Petya’s act gave people faith in the best, returning them to forgotten dreams. It turns out that everything in this life is possible!
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