Ivy Baldwin on the High Wire, Colorado

Ivy Baldwin on the High Wire at Eldorado Springs, Colorado
Height of wire 582 feet.  Length 539 feet.  Thickness 7/8 inches.

unused (could be his crossing on July 4, 1906)

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Ivy Baldwin:
He was born Will Ivy in Houston in 1866, and later adopted the name of Ivy Baldwin.  He ran away at age 12 with the visiting circus. It was there that he learned wire-walking as well as balloonist skills.

 At age 14 Ivy made his first crossing over South Boulder Canyon at Eldorado Springs. He made a total of 87 crossings with the last being on his 82nd birthday.

His various stunts took him around the world. He once performed for the Emperor of Japan who had a silk kimono made for Ivy with pictures of him and his wire act embroidered down the front.

He was small in stature, barely weighing 100 pounds and 5'3" in height. When he walked the high wire he used ordinary cloth shoes with resin soles. He balanced himself with a 26-foot pole weighing 10 pounds.

He died in bed in 1953 at age 87 in his son's home in Arvada, Colorado.