'Man On Wire': Philipe Petit Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of His High-Wire Walk at LongHouse Reserve

Fifty years ago, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit pulled off a spectacularly brilliant coup a quarter mile in the air.

It was the morning of August 7, 1974. From a corner of the roof atop the World Trade Center’s South Tower — still under construction at that time — Petit stepped out onto a thin length of wire attached to the neighboring North Tower and took a 138-foot walk across the span separating the two.

Pedestrians 1,350 feet below took notice. They stared up in amazement as Petit, a speck of a figure, traversed the wire at an impossibly high point in the sky.

Of course, it was beautifully outrageous and totally illicit — an artistic act carried out in secret by Petit and his cadre of accomplices with a lot of planning and more than a little luck (a well-aimed shot with a bow and arrow was how initial contact was made between the towers). In fact, it was not unlike a bank heist. But instead of stealing money, this heist was about stealing the hearts and imaginations of New Yorkers who, at that time, had very little affection for the Twin Towers. As the old joke goes, “New York City is home to some of the world’s greatest architecture, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building … and the boxes they came in.”

But with that single act of defiance, 24-year-old Petit changed the way the world saw that pair of maligned structures. During his early morning stroll, Petit crossed the span not once, but a full eight times. He was out there for 45 minutes and at one point, even laid down on the wire. Meanwhile, New York’s finest had been summoned to the roof and were waiting for him, urging him to end the performance as Petit would teasingly edge closer to them then saunter away in glee.

Of course, Petit was promptly arrested. But all charges against him were dropped in exchange for a free performance for children in Central Park, which took place exactly 50 years ago today — on Thursday, August 29, 1974 — atop a high wire above Belvedere Lake. After all was said and done, the Port Authority even gave Petit a lifetime pass to the South Tower’s observation deck and to commemorate the feat, he autographed a steel beam close to where his walk began.

“I was very proud to witness that in the press, in the general way people thought, journalists, art reviewers, ‘Philippe made those towers human,’” recalled Petit in a recent phone interview. “For an artist that’s a compliment.”

But that was a different world and it all seems like such a dream now. By 2001, both towers would be gone, felled within minutes of one another by terrorists on 9/11. Thousands of human lives went with them. Maybe that’s why those ethereal images of Petit calmly traversing the void between the towers has become such an enduring symbol of their beauty, which everyone came to see after an ugly duckling start — a skywritten love letter to the immense loss experienced after they fell.

But Philippe Petit doesn’t like to talk about that part of the story. He lives quietly in upstate New York now where he keeps his skills sharp on the tightrope in his backyard. He also turned 75 a couple weeks ago.

“Seventy-five is an alarming number,” confessed Petit.

But it’s not a number that defines him and on occasion, Petit returns to Manhattan where he has been an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 40 years. On August 7 and 8, Petit was back at the cathedral to perform “Towering!!,” a high-wire act consisting of 19 short scenes in which he reenacted his famous walk a half century ago. Accompanying him on guitar below was his good friend Sting, as well as Grammy-nominated clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen.

This Sunday, Petit will be in East Hampton for another not-quite-so high-wire act to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his Trade Center walk, this one at LongHouse Reserve where he also performed a decade ago to honor the 40th anniversary.

“‘WTC 40’ 10 years ago was an elaborate performance and I was happy to do it. September 1 is going to be a very peaceful stroll over the garden,” Petit explained. “I’m calling it ‘Garden Stroll: A Duet for Clarinet & High Wire’ and Anat Cohen, the famous clarinetist who was the highlight at St. John’s, will join me.

“I will be not just walking back and forth,” he added. “I will do beautiful choreography on the wire with music and a unique performance in an intimate and grand setting. I know those sound like opposite things, but I’m delighted and enjoy working with the people handling it.”

When asked what it is about LongHouse Reserve that he finds so inspiring, Petit responded, “I’m glad you used the word ‘inspiring.’ One of the thoughts behind me choosing spaces, whether manmade or natural, is it has to be something special. Not necessarily the grandest, highest or deepest. But it has to have a special place in my heart. What a wonderfully inspiring place LongHouse is. It’s really a beautiful balance of nature and art and you can see it on the face of visitors.”

Petit has walked the wire in countless places, including between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. He notes that it’s not the spectacle that motivates him, but rather a calling of a less tangible kind.

“In my life as an artist, the walk between the towers is the highlight, but not the focal point. I have done high wire around the world,” said Petit, who admits he’s a bit tired of all the attention that’s been centered around the World Trade Center walk. “Today I’m interested in doing something of our time.”

“It’s about beauty and grandeur, I didn’t do it because it’s the tallest or the deepest. It’s to make us look up, rather than down at our phones,” said Petit, who likes to keep things simple on the wire. “People ask, ‘Do you ever have a phone in your hand?’ Never. People even want to put a camera on my forehead. I’m not interested in that. I like it to be pure — like the Middle Ages. I never even wear a watch.”

And he stays in shape by constantly and quietly focusing on his high-wire art form

How do you stay in shape for wire walking? How will you know when it’s time to stop?

“My passion, my journey of being on the wire knows no bounds. At 75, I am feeling the strongest and most in command in my entire life,” he said. “Maybe it’s the thousands of hours of rehearsal. The word retirement doesn’t apply to me.”

So how will Petit know when it’s time to give up walking the wire?

“I will stop when my body refuses to walk on the ground.”

Philippe Petit’s “Garden Stroll: A Duet for High Wire & Clarinet” with clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen is Sunday, September 1, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The performance will include a prelude from the Young Concert Artists musicians Karen Lindquist and Anthony Trionfo. Tickets are $100 to $500 at longhouse.org and front row seats include an invitation to a festive reception with the artists after their performance. LongHouse Reserve is at 133 Hands Creek Road in East Hampton.