George Gibson Polley (1898–1927) was an American pioneer of (the then-unnamed act of)

buildering Buildering (also known as edificeering, urban climbing, structuring, skywalking, boulding, or stegophily) describes the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. The word "buildering", sometimes misspelled bil ...

, or climbing the walls of tall buildings, earning him the nickname "the human fly". According to himself, he began his climbing career at the age of 12 in 1910 when an owner of a

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

store promised him a suit if he would climb to the roof of the building. He succeeded. Over his career Polley climbed over 2000 buildings. In 1920 he climbed the

Woolworth building The Woolworth Building is an early skyscraper, early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert located at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the tallest building in ...

but was arrested, just when he reached the 30th floor and had 27 floors to go, for climbing without official permission. He also climbed 500 ft up the

Custom House Tower The Custom House Tower is a skyscraper in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The original building was constructed in 1837–47 and was designed by Ammi Burnham Young in the Greek Revival style. The ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He would often spice up his performance by pretending to slip and fall from a windowsill to another. George G. Polley was also a talented magician and performed in vaudeville with his wife the amazing Helen Stillman. He was a good friend of

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

and learned some of his tricks from him. He had three sons: George, Gibson and Stillman. George Polley died at the age of 29 due to a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

References

Urban climbers American entertainers 1898 births 1927 deaths {{US-entertainer-stub

See also

References