His claim to fame was climbing buildings with nothing more than his hands and feet to assist him. That was Harry Gardiner, the "human fly."

And that's just what Gardiner did after noon on March 5, 1918, when he climbed the 10-story Houston Chronicle Building.

Nearby businesses were ready for the masses that would turn out. Scheps' Ready-to-Wear across Travis from the Chronicle allowed spectators to watch from their shop. Folks were even invited to take the interurban to see the spectacle.

"The roof of every skyscraper in the city was covered with people," according to the March 5 Chronicle. "Office windows and fire escapes in every building within blocks of The Chronicle office were packed with expectant humanity. The Rice Hotel, the Bender, the Bristol and even the Texas Building carried their burdens of humanity.

"It was a circus day crowd. Never has such a crowd been seen in this section of the city. A special detail of police was required to keep back the surging waves of humanity as autos honk-honked their way through."

In all, about 25,000 jammed the intersection of Texas and Travis to see him do it ... or fall and possibly die in the process.

"Gardiner, wearing a white duck [cloth] suit and tennis shoes, appeared promptly at the announced hour, and lost little time in making the climb," the Chronicle wrote in its March 6 editions. "He wore, suspended from the right shoulder, a canvas bag, such as is used by Chronicle carriers."

Gardiner took on the building from the Travis Street side. He went up a little bit before coming back down.

"He can't do it," the crowd murmured.

MOVIE: Learn more about the movie Billy Graham set in Houston

But Gardiner tried again. And when he reached the top of the first story, the masses let out a cheer.

He paused and told the crowd the building would be a difficult one to scale, its exterior walls proving to be rather slippery. With ease, though, he ascended the building like a cat, the Chronicle reported.

Upon reaching the 10th story, Gardiner flung himself outward.

"God almighty," shouted one onlooker.

Of course, he didn't really take a leap off the building. Seems he was having a little fun at the expense of everyone's nerves below.

"After having pulled himself nonchalantly 'over the top' of The Chronicle, the Human Fly shinned up the flagpole of the building, and, silhouetted against the dizzy blue of Houston's 'Italian sky,' hoisted the American flag to the top of the pole and exchanged places with it, letting himself down with a final bow," wrote reporter Elizabeth Barsaloux. "The crowd vented its pent up emotion in one vast, relieved American cheer for 'The Flag.'"

This wasn't the first time the recently-demolished Chronicle Building was used in a stunt. Two years earlier, Harry Houdini escaped from a straitjacket while hanging upside down from it.

Two days after climbing the Chronicle Building, Gardiner climbed the Texaco Building at night.

"It's all a matter of mental poise," he told the Chronicle earlier in the week. "I take no chances and always have a new hold before I turn loose an old one. If the builder did his work right, there is no danger."

MISS PHOTOFLASH: See the beauty queens of Houston's past

Gardiner had been a celebrity for years by the time he visited Houston. From the Flatiron Building in New York to other skyscrapers in Chicago and San Francisco, he tacked some 700 in all.

"Climbing is just my way of preaching," Gardiner said. "I believe that time should be set aside in the public schools to teach girls and boys the value of presence of mind and courage, to develop their will power and train them in self-confidence.

"There is many a man and woman who died a failure who, had he or she been trained in self-confidence, would have made the world acknowledge their greatness."

Over time, copycats, including some who were – shall we say – not as successful at climbing buildings like Gardiner, helped usher in laws that put the brakes on these stunts.

So what happened to him? Seems no one can definitively say, though his exploits appear to have trailed off after 1925. Michael Largo, author of "The Portable Obituary" noted that a man matching Gardiner's description was found beaten and bloodied at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Some sources say that was in 1933.

By then the buzz surrounding the "human fly" seemed to have faded.

J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com.



