Ninety-one years ago this weekend, Harry Houdini performed his last suspended straitjacket escape. And he did it upside down while dangling high above Washington Street in Indianapolis. One of Houdini’s most popular publicity stunts, it called for Harry to be strapped into a regulation straitjacket and suspended by his ankles from a tall building or crane. Houdini would then make his very public escape in full view of the assembled crowd, usually numbering in the thousands, down below. On Thursday April 2, 1925 Harry Houdini hung precariously from a specially constructed scaffolding extending from the fourth floor of the Indianapolis News Building at 30 West Washington Street in the city.
Local newspapers, undoubtedly prompted by Houdini himself, estimated the crowd at over 12,000. Modern day analysis of photographs taken that day put the number at around 3,000. Regardless, the throng choked the Historic National Road and effectively brought city traffic to a standstill for hours. Houdini picked his perch wisely for he knew placing it nestled near the news nest guaranteed him front page coverage.
The crowd jostled uncomfortably for almost an hour with eyes cast upwards at the fourth floor platform waiting for their idol to appear. Suddenly, Houdini appeared at ground level with arms outstretched as he turned by degrees and bowed to the cheering crowds. Members of the Indianapolis Police Department suddenly appeared to strap Houdini into a straitjacket on loan from the department to ensure there would be no funny business. The officers secured the leather straps while Houdini turned his back to the crowd as evidence of his entrapment. He was lowered to the ground and a chain was wrapped around his ankles after which he was slowly hoisted up to the platform by a crane. From the moment of his ensnarement to the time when the straitjacket was completely off and dropped four stories to the cheering crowd below, it took him two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
In an article published on April 6 (Houdini’s 51st birthday), Houdini credited the paper for drawing the record crowd that day: “It is a wonderful tribute to The Indianapolis News for, with only one day’s publicity exploiting my performance, The News drew between 12,000 and 15,000 people in front of its building last Thursday at noon. I have performed similar feats in cities all over the world, usually with a week’s heralding. The News announced my intended public appearance in last Wednesday’s issues alone. On Thursday we had the show. The pictures tell the story.”
Speaking of pictures, Houdini awarded local photographer Robert A. Twente $10 for the best photograph taken that day; that’s roughly $137 in today’s money. Houdini presented Twente his prize from the stage of B.F. Keith’s Theatre on the Saturday following the stunt. Runner-up prizes of $5 and $2.50 were awarded to Turner D. Bottome and the Coburn Photo Company respectively. Twente’s photo was taken from the roof of a building on the opposite side of the street. It offers an elevated view of Houdini struggling against his jacket restraints. Washington Street is choked with spectators as are the windows of the adjoining buildings. Houdini’s shadow can be seen against the side of the News building and the merchant sign of the Gausepohl Trunks and Leather Goods store at 38 W. Washington Street frames the magician’s image against the sky. In typical Houdini style, a two-story canvas sign advertising the stunt has been unfurled on the side of the Taylor’s building at 39 West Washington. Google it and I think you’ll agree, it is an impressive photo.
Although April 2, 1925 was Houdini’s most famous visit to the Circle City, it was not his first. Contrary to what many believe, Harry Houdini was not really a solo act. Harry most often traveled as part of a vaudeville show and in that capacity, he made several trips through Indianapolis in his career. Known as “Handcuff Harry,” he was one of its most successful and lucrative performers. Houdini loved to show off his escape skills, often enlisting the local police departments to promote his appearances and to prove that nothing could contain him. In December of 1911, Houdini appeared at the Indianapolis police headquarters and announced that he “would make a criminal that would bear watching”.
IPD Captain of Detectives William Holtz opened his desk and removed five pairs of handcuffs, all of different type and manufacture. Holtz shackled Houdini with the handcuffs and tucked the keys safely out of reach in his pocket. Plainclothes policemen escorted the now hobbled Houdini to a locked room and waited. In exactly six minutes the door swung open and Houdini emerged with every handcuff unlocked. Houdini told a reporter, “It was one of the severest tests I ever have undergone. Capt. Holtz, manacled me with five different pairs. One pair nearly proved my Waterloo. I was on the point of giving up when I finally solved its mystery.”
During a December 27, 1911 appearance at Keith’s Theater, Houdini accepted a challenge to escape from a large cask of Lieber’s Special beer provided by the Indianapolis Brewing Company. The newspaper ad touting his appearance read: “Tonight B.F. Kieth’s Theatre. Houdini in a tank of beer. Houdini, the famous escape King, will be locked in a tank of beer this evening. Lieber’s Special Brew according to conditions of a special challenger from the Indianapolis Brewing Company.” Houdini escaped unscathed, dripping in suds and presumably sober. And although not much is known about it, Houdini also visited Indianapolis in 1908 and had a fantastic picture of himself and a friend taken in front of a massive French Lick Springs Pluto Water advertising canvas covering the side of an unnamed downtown building.
Houdini was understandably protective of his position as the World’s Most Famous Magician, and he often went to great lengths to distance himself from rival magicians of his day. His strong ego and rather cold relationships with other magic entertainers made him a natural target for their ire. Paradoxically, Houdini also went out of his way to support the magic community. He vision was to create a large, unified national network of professional and amateur magicians. He said “The Magicians Clubs as a rule are small: they are weak…but if we were amalgamated into one big body the society would be stronger, and it would mean making the small clubs powerful and worth while. Members would find a welcome wherever they happened to be and, conversely, the safeguard of a city-to-city hotline to track exposers and other undesirables.”
In 1917, he became the 10th president of the Society of American Magicians, a position he held for the rest of his short life. Founded on May 10, 1902, in the back room of Martinka’s Magic Shop in New York City, the Society expanded rapidly under Houdini’s leadership. The Society is still going strong, and Houdini remains the only president to serve for more than one year. In 1919, Houdini served as president of the Martinka Magic Co., saving it from financial failure. Wherever he traveled, Houdini gave a lengthy formal address to the local magic club, made speeches, and usually threw a banquet for the members at his own expense. Houdini was magic’s greatest visionary and magic’s unchallenged king. He was also the impostor’s greatest foe.
Although Houdini created his legend by “tricking” people, he abhorred the idea of self-professed psychics, intuitives and mediums who dared do the same. By the time of that last visit to Indianapolis, Houdini had developed a strong reputation for exposing fraud in the paranormal community. During one of those visits to Indianapolis, Houdini called out Reverend Charles Gunsolas, a local spiritualist who claimed to be able to speak with the dead. Gunsolas agreed to perform this service in front of a crowd during one of Houdini’s shows, only to be debunked with the help of Houdini’s undercover operatives. Houdini’s crusade continued to draw headlines wherever he went. Outraged spiritualists inundated the papers with letters denouncing him in return. Of course, all of this was good for business for both Houdini and theater owners.
On April 1, 1925 Houdini left Indianapolis for the last time bound for his next gig in Cincinnati. A year and a half later, he was dead. Harry Houdini died Oct. 31, 1926, at the age of 52 from peritonitis, as a result of a ruptured appendix and stepped into the pages of history. Many may think that Harry Houdini is ancient history with no way to relate to our 21st century uber-wired world. Consider this then. When Harry Houdini came through Indianapolis 91 years ago this weekend, he brought with him an assistant named Dorothy Young. She joined his troupe in 1925 when she was 17 years old and quickly became an integral part of Harry’s act.
“Houdini told me that he chose me from the more the 1,000 girls who showed up that day because, unlike all of them — I was a quiet, little girl sitting all the way in the back — and because I was shorter than he was,” Young told a gathering of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution in 2008. Young, the daughter of a Methodist minister, toured for a year with Houdini and left just two months before he died. Well, Dorothy Young died 5 years ago on March 20, 2011 at the age of 103. Sometimes, what seems like ancient history isn’t that far away after all, is it?
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
