Houdini's Rochester Bridge Jump

Reposted with permission from Wild About Harry

Harry Houdini's jump from the Weighlock Bridge in Rochester, New York, on May 7, 1907 is best known for being the earliest surviving film footage of Houdini in action. And that's about all it's known for. However, this jump had a lot of very interesting aspects that have gone largely unrecorded in biographies. So let's tell the full story!

Houdini came to Rochester for a one week engagement starting May 6, 1907 at Cook Opera House. According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, he was there in part to settle a $1,000 bet with Al C. Buckenberger, manager of the Rochester baseball club. As the story ran, the previous winter Houdini had boasted that he could jump manacled from the Weighlock Bridge and free himself underwater. Buckenberger bet him $1000 he could not. Weather conditions at the time made the test impossible. Now Houdini was there to make good on the wager, despite "still not ideal" conditions. Interestingly, the papers reported that Houdini would not only be handcuffed, but also "sewn into a sack like Monte Cristo."

Houdini had spent a week in preparations for the jump at his home in New York City. The year before he had gotten a cramp when he jumped from the Belle Isle Bridge into the freezing Detroit river. Now he was resolved to prepare his body for the cold. He began taking a series of ice baths, working his way down to a temperature below 40 degrees. ("Gee it's cold," he recorded in his diary.) His baths where overseen by his physician brother, Dr. Leopold Weiss.

"Houdini must be in splendid condition or he would never attempt such a performance," a Rochester doctor told the newspaper. "A sudden jump into this icy bath means a tremendous shock to his nervous system. He'll be shakin', and he'll need a beer when he comes upon the land, unless I am greatly mistaken."

The papers also reported that Houdini's mother was "greatly concerned at the prospect of her son's hazardous performance" and that "she decided to come to Rochester with him, and will be on the scene when he jumps from the bridge." This is a rare mention of Houdini's mother attending an outdoor stunt. But there is a famous photo of Houdini and Mama on a Rochester street, with Houdini kissing her on the cheek. (Houdini later misdated the photo as 1908.)

Houdini giving a smooch to his mother, Cecilia Steiner Weiss, according to a listing in the Library of Congress

Cook Opera House did a fine job promoting the stunt, running continuous ads both large and small in the papers. One dramatic ad ran the length of an entire page.

The day before the stunt, Houdini visited the bridge with reporters and did a practice jump without handcuffs. This, he explained, was so he could test the water temperature and depth. "He got plenty of information about the bottom," the papers reported the next day. "When he climbed out he was covered in mud up to his knees." Because of this, Houdini decided to abandon the idea of being sewn into a sack (if he was ever serious about it). "I hardly think I shall be able to use a sack, as the deep mud would make it almost impossible to extricate myself from it," he explained.

This practice test is a curious thing, but it appears to have been a regular feature of Houdini's early bridge jumps. Before jumping into the Alleghany from the Seventh Street bridge a week later, he also did a practice jump.

The day of the jump a reported 10,000 onlookers gathered along the canal. Police kept people from crowding onto the narrow bridge itself, saying it was too dangerous. Houdini arrived at 12:30 and stripped down to a pair of white shorts. He was then manacled by a police officer with two pair of handcuffs. He climbed to the top of the bridge truss, and jumped. Fifteen seconds later he was free and swimming to shore, balancing the handcuffs on top of his head so he could swim with both arms.

For all the hype, the escape itself received a somewhat modest report in the Democrat and Chronicle under the headline "Handcuffed, Leaps into Canal." The paper didn't run any photographs, but on that score, Houdini had made his own arrangements.

Houdini had employed Eastman Kodak to film the escape. The company appears to have used two cameras, one on the bridge with Houdini during his shackling, beautifully capturing Houdini in his prime, and the other from a distance to film the jump. (Or it's possible the cameraman relocated for the jump as there is no other cameraman visible on the bridge in the long shot.) The speedy film developing was a magic trick in itself, and on the night of May 9th, the film was shown to audiences at Cook Opera House.

Incredibly, the film has survived. And here it is:

The exact location of Houdini's jump is a little hard to fathom today. "Weighlock Bridge" was not a formal name, but more of a description -- the bridge over the weighlock. But the weighlocks are still there, and newspaper accounts say the bridge being near Court Street, so the below is a likely candidate.

View on Google Maps.

Houdini finished out his week in Rochester with challenge escapes. He then moved on to Buffalo where, no doubt, he exhibited his escape footage. In fact, Houdini would continue to film his outdoor stunts and show them before his act for the remainder of his career. So Rochester was a true first in that regard.

But for Houdini personally, the Rochester escape was most memorable for one reason. That night he wrote in his diary, "Ma saw me jump!"

Related Posts/Articles:

• The Play’s The Thing: A History of Cook’s Opera House

• Mystery Surrounding Houdini in Rochester

• Rare footage reveals Harry Houdini's daring 1907 escape from handcuffs in Rochester's Erie Canal

From Rochester Democrat and Chronicle May 7, 1907

PRELIMINARY JUMP WITH HIS HANDS FREE
Houdini Gets His Bearings for His Feat To-day

Five o'clock yesterday afternoon, after his stage performance at the Cook Opera House, Harry Houdini paid a visit to the weighlock bridge, from the top of which structure he is scheduled to jump into the canal this noon at 12:30. Houdini stripped to a bathing suit and made the dive. He didn't wear handcuffs. He made the plunge to test the temperature of the water and to find out what sort of a bottom the canal had at that point. He got plenty of information about the bottom. When he climbed out he was covered with mud up to his knees.

"I don't see any obstacle in the successful accomplishment of the jump," said Houdini. "The water is about the right depth, and I can negotiate the height. The water is pretty cold. I may have to stay under for a considerable time while getting rid of my handcuffs, and it will be pretty chilly work. I hardly think I shall be able to use a sack, as the deep mud would make it almost impossible to extricate myself from it. I don't know just what I will do about the point."

For the past week Houdini has been at his home in New York. His brother who is a physician, also lives there. Under his brother's direction, Houdini has been undergoing a rigid training preparatory to his leap.

Houdini's mother was greatly concerned at the prospect of her son's hazardous performance. She worried so that she decided to come to Rochester with him, and she will be on the scene when he jumps from the bridge.

Moving pictures of Houdini's leap into the water are to be made by the Eastman Kodak Company. A photographer will set his camera in operation some time before the jump is made, so that the preliminary doings will be recorded. The leap itself and Houdini's struggles in the water will be photographed. The pictures will be exhibited in the theater to-morrow – which will mean speedy work on the part of the Kodak people.

From Rochester Democrat and Chronicle May 8, 1907

HANDCUFFED, LEAPS INTO CANAL
Crowd of Ten Thousand Sees Houdini Risk His Life

With a moving picture machine to photograph him as he plunged into the canal and a crowd to cheer or tell of his death, Houdini dived from a truss of the Weighlock bridge at noon yesterday, handcuffed. Two pairs of police bracelets were fastened about his wrists when he made the leap.

Fifteen seconds from the time that the cold wafer closed over him, Houdini appeared above the surface with one pair of the handcuffs dangling from his right wrist. He sank again, but came to the surface almost immediately afterward with both hands free and waving the handcuffs above his head. His wife and mother were among those who saw him go into the water.

A moderate estimate of the crowd present placed it at ten thousand. The spectators occupied every available bit of space from which a view of the jump could he obtained and had much difficulty in getting to the street afterward.

Houdini took a preliminary leap into the canal Monday afternoon. He found the bottom coated with four or five feet of mud. Because of that condition the idea of leaping into the canal with a sack tied about him and with his legs shackled was given up.

More Houdini & Rochester...

Challenge packing case postcard sells big on ebay

Friday, July 28, 2023

It has been a while since I've seen something of note sell on ebay, but today was one of those days. The below unused postcard shows Houdini in front of a challenge packing case in Rochester, New York. While not unknown, it's a great image that sold for a whopping $2,350.00.

The auction didn't identify exactly when and where this was taken, but I can! This appears to be Houdini's challenge from the Rochester Box & Lumber Co. on November 10, 1911 at the Temple Theater in Rochester. This week also saw him escape from his Milk Can filled with beer by the Moerlbach Brewing Co. Below is an ad for that engagement and the theater as it appeared in Houdini's day.

The Temple Theatre, Rochester

Marie H. Blood, 1917-2004

Thursday, November 4, 2004

Marie H. Blood, niece of Harry and Bess Houdini, passed away peacefully on Tuesday evening November 2nd, 2004. She had been ill for the past 2 months and then contracted pneumonia. She will be missed by all who knew her.

Funeral arrangements have been made with Bartolomeo and Perotto Funeral Home, located at 1411 Vintage Lane (between Rt 390 and Long Pond Road), Rochester, NY

• Visitation on Sunday 11/7/04 from 2-6 PM

• Magicians Broken Wand Ceremony on Sunday 11/7/04 at 5:30 PM

• Funeral Mass on Monday 11/8/04 at 10 AM, to be held at St. Lawrence Church, 1000 North Greece Rd, Rochester, NY 14626

After Marie's Funeral Mass there will be a gathering for brunch at the Red Fedele's Brook House Restaurant, 920 Elmridge Center Drive, Rochester, NY 14626

In lieu of flowers the family has established a foundation in Marie's honor called the "Houdini Family Young Magicians Foundation" (HFYMF). The purpose is to assist young magicians pursue their interest in magic.

Tax deductible donations may be made payable to the "S.A.M. Magic Endowment Fund", Attention: Donation to HFYMF, 234 Town Court, Lower Gwynedd, PA 19002"

Marie with her Uncle Harry in 1921