1866-1953 AKA Ivy Baldwin |
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Shows pilot and another man in the wicker basket, and the balloon in flight. 1900-1910 Ross Barrett Historical Aeronautics Collection Copyright © 1995-2001, The Denver Public Library |
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by Adele Lam Ivy Baldwin at 12 ran away with the visiting circus. It was there that he learned wire-walking as well as balloonist skills. Born Will Ivy in Houston in 1866, he later adopted the name of Ivy Baldwin a circus acrobat. In 1890, John Elitch brought Ivy to Denver where he performed balloon ascensions and parachute drops at Elitch Gardens. He loved Colorado and became a life-long resident. At 14 Ivy made his first crossing over South Boulder Canyhon at Eldorado Springs. He made a total of 87 crossings the last on his 82nd birthday. As a balloonist in the Spanish-American War, Ivy Baldwin was a member of the Signal Corps and did reconnaissance for the American Army. With the advent of the airplane, he became a specialist in parachute jumping and made more than 2,800 jumps from balloons and airplanes. 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. Ivy Baldwin was small in stature, barely weight 100 pounds and 5'3" in height. His slight figure belied his courage and adventurous spirit. He never wanted to quit. When is walked the high wire he used ordinary cloth shoes with resin soles. He balanced himself with a 26-foot pole weighing 10 pounds, on each end of which was a 1 pound knob. His most dangerous walk took place in San Francisco in 1885, when he walked a wire stretched over the Pacific Ocean from Cliff House to Seal Rocks, with a pounding surf below. Ivy Baldwin died in bed at age 87 in 1953 at his son's home in Arvada, Colorado. In 1974, the high wire at Eldorado Springs was taken down so as not to tempt adventurous youth. Editor's Note: This article was found on the website of the Boulder History Museum. The specific page can be accessed by clicking on the title, just below the photograph. However, at least using my Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, the page would not display properly. (9-21-03) I was able to copy the photograph and the text which you can read above. I will try to contact the Museum to alert them to this problem. |
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He was born in Houston, Tex., July 31, 1866, to John F. and Elizabeth Ivy. After joining Sam and Thomas Baldwin in 1883 he adopted the name Baldwin. He had already started his ballooning career in 1880. At the urging of Lt. Wm. A. Glassford he enlisted in the Signal Corps in 1894 and headed the first balloon "train" since the Civil War. BY 1896 the Army's one balloon had become useless and Sgt. and Mrs. Baldwin built a new one which Sgt. Baldwin flew at Santiago in 1898. In 1910 he built and flew his own airplane. He is survived by his sons Harry and Ira W. Baldwin of Ogden, Utah; a daughter and two grandsons. For the story of this great life see Chirp #39, Oct., 1948; #40, April, 1949; and #41, July, 1949. January 1, 1993 Back 
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