philippe petit man on a wire
planning the artistic crime
Petit was first inspired while he sat in his dentist's office in Paris in 1968. He came upon an article on the as-yet unbuilt towers, along with an illustration of the model. He then became obsessed with the towers. Petit also traveled to New York on several occasions to make first-hand observations. Since the towers were still under construction, Petit and three others made fake identification cards in order to gain access to the towers and to get a sense of what type of equipment he needed. He once even claimed that he was with a French architecture magazine wanting to interview the workers on the roof.
Petit and his crew were able to ride in a freight elevator to the 104th floor with their equipment the day before the walk, and were able to store this equipment just nineteen steps from the roof. In order to pass the cable across the void, Petit and his crew decided to use a bow and arrow. For the first time in the history of the Twin Towers, they were joined. The "artistic crime of the century" took six years of planning.
the walk on the line
On August 7, 1974, shortly after 7:15 a.m., Petit stepped off the South Tower and onto the steel cable with no security at all. The 24-year old Petit made eight crossings between the still-unfinished towers in 45 minutes. During that time, in addition to walking, he sat on the wire, while lying on the wire, spoke with a gull circling above his head.
He was finally persuaded by police officers to give himself up after he was warned that a police helicopter would come to pick him off the wire. Petit was worried that the wind from the helicopter would knock him off the wire, so he decided it was time to give up.
His audacious high wire performance made headlines around the world. When asked why he did the stunt, Petit would say "When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk."
The immense news coverage and public appreciation of Petit's high wire walk resulted in all formal charges relating to his walk being dropped. The court did however "sentence" Petit to perform a show for the children of New York City. Petit was also presented with a lifetime pass to the Twin Towers' by the Port Authority. His signature was on a steel beam close to his departure. Petit's high-wire walk is credited with bringing the then rather unpopular Twin Towers much needed popular attention and affection.
A documentary film named "Man on Wire" dealing with Petit's WTC performance won both the world cinema jury and audience awards at the Sundance Filmfestival 2008.
Petit was first inspired while he sat in his dentist's office in Paris in 1968. He came upon an article on the as-yet unbuilt towers, along with an illustration of the model. He then became obsessed with the towers. Petit also traveled to New York on several occasions to make first-hand observations. Since the towers were still under construction, Petit and three others made fake identification cards in order to gain access to the towers and to get a sense of what type of equipment he needed. He once even claimed that he was with a French architecture magazine wanting to interview the workers on the roof.
Petit and his crew were able to ride in a freight elevator to the 104th floor with their equipment the day before the walk, and were able to store this equipment just nineteen steps from the roof. In order to pass the cable across the void, Petit and his crew decided to use a bow and arrow. For the first time in the history of the Twin Towers, they were joined. The "artistic crime of the century" took six years of planning.
the walk on the line
On August 7, 1974, shortly after 7:15 a.m., Petit stepped off the South Tower and onto the steel cable with no security at all. The 24-year old Petit made eight crossings between the still-unfinished towers in 45 minutes. During that time, in addition to walking, he sat on the wire, while lying on the wire, spoke with a gull circling above his head.
He was finally persuaded by police officers to give himself up after he was warned that a police helicopter would come to pick him off the wire. Petit was worried that the wind from the helicopter would knock him off the wire, so he decided it was time to give up.
His audacious high wire performance made headlines around the world. When asked why he did the stunt, Petit would say "When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk."
The immense news coverage and public appreciation of Petit's high wire walk resulted in all formal charges relating to his walk being dropped. The court did however "sentence" Petit to perform a show for the children of New York City. Petit was also presented with a lifetime pass to the Twin Towers' by the Port Authority. His signature was on a steel beam close to his departure. Petit's high-wire walk is credited with bringing the then rather unpopular Twin Towers much needed popular attention and affection.
A documentary film named "Man on Wire" dealing with Petit's WTC performance won both the world cinema jury and audience awards at the Sundance Filmfestival 2008.
