Tight Rope Walker

Tight Rope Walker is a sculpture on Revson Plaza, the bridge above Amsterdam Avenue. It was commissioned for placement on the Columbia campus by "the Friends of Maj. Gen. William B. Donovan". Donovan was an alumnus of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, and World War II veteran. The sculpture was subsequently created by R. Kees Verkade between 1973 and 1979. It was officially gifted to the university in 1979.

The sculpture is set in bronze and is 14 ft 3 inches tall. It is on a 7 ft pedestal. One figure balances on the shoulders of another as the two cross a tight rope. Both figures are remarkably tall and thin, and they hold out their arms to help balance themselves.

Sometimes people hang laundry out to dry on the tightrope walkers' arms. In 2007, some people placed a mattress below the Tight Rope Walker, with "just in case" written on the mattress.^[1]