Philippe Petit Plans Midtown Wire Walk

Philippe Petit, friend of Gothamist and entertainer of the world, will perform another high wire walk in New York. His most famous one, of course, was in 1974 when he walked back and forth between the Twin Towers (documented in the Oscar-winning and vertigo-inducing documentary Man on Wire). CityRoom reports that "Petit says he will perform a high-wire walk this fall in Midtown Manhattan. It will be high, it will be long, and it will be outdoors in a very recognizable location that he does not want revealed quite yet—discussions are not final." The walk will be to raise awareness for literacy, and is part of a series of walks he'll be performing across the country.

In the meantime, Petit will host a benefit screening of Man on Wire (with a Q&A to follow) this Wednesday at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where he holds an office and has been an artist in residence since 1982. Fun fact: he keeps a practice wire strung inside of Synod Hall and "his duties long included changing the light bulbs high in the chandeliers because the cathedral had no other way to do it."