A Colorado pioneer, Ivy Baldwin, was well known for his acrobatic feats.

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 41 Ivy made his first crossing over South Boulder Canyon 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.