submitted by Rene Torres
In 1917-28, next to the train depot, with 300 rooms and a price tag of $800,000, the El Jardin Hotel, with its ballroom wing, parking garage and Spanish garden, was the gathering place for the socialites of Brownsville. And, just across the street, with a Las Vegas type movie sign, was the glamorous Capitol Theater.
During its glory days, the hotel attracted business people from around the world; movie stars, professional baseball teams and the up and coming, all mingling in the lobby of this once palace.
In 1929, the question was how to attract people to Brownsville to come and stay at the El Jardin Hotel. The answer was bringing Babe White, the "Human Fly."
Babe was a daredevil who had attracted a throng in his first visit to the city in 1928 when he scaled the El Jardin Hotel. He was one of the best in the country with 15 years of experience.
Among his notable achievements were the ascent of the Woolworth building, 63 stories, New York, the U.S. Smith building, 42 stories, Seattle, Washington and the cathedral of Mexico City, where he attracted 60,000 people in each of his performances.
The El Jardin Hotel, which only stood eight stories high, was an elementary climb for the Babe, but made it exciting just as well by creating such dramatic slips.
During his first climb in 1928, he thrilled the crowds with what appeared to be narrow escapes from falls as he hugged the projections of the building. At one point of his climb, the crowd murmured in excitement when the "Human Fly" apparently slipped and almost took a dive.
His second visit to Brownsville was more thrilling.
Hotel officials scored a success with White's first visit and he was invited back in 1929. But this time around, the weather played a vital role in his performance. The weather forecast for the Friday climb at 2:30 PM and the other at 7:30 PM, called for a wet and windy day.
The weather was bad enough to postpone the climb, but Babe said it would make it even more exciting so the show went on.
A small crowd started gathering by 2:00 PM and it grew by the hundreds as the "Fly" took the stage. White's dangerous climbs were made doubly so by the high winds and wetness of the walls caused by the steady light rain.
The crowd quivered with emotion at both performances as the daredevil slipped on several occasions as he clamered and climbed his way to the top bringing the young and old to a panicked silence. Although some slips looked as prearranged, to the crowd they appeared authentic.
As if climbing to the top of the hotel was not enough, White extended his luck in giving the crowd an extra thrill. What really electrified the crowd, however, came when White climbed the flag pole on top of the hotel.
Once he conquered the flag pole, White went on to balance himself on the knob of his stomach with hands and legs outspread. What made this more spectacular was that the wind was blowing hard and the pole swayed as the daredevil balanced himself.
The wind was blowing toward the street and the pole bent out over the structure as the screams of the crowd got louder and louder.
White also scaled the cathedral in Matamoros. The Human Fly was no stranger to our sister city as he had climbed the cathedral once before in 1921. It was also in this same year that he went up the Merchant National Bank in Brownsville.
"The cathedral will test my skills," White said.
White said his first venture in climbing the church spires in 1921 was no easy task. But his doubts were erased as the Sunday afternoon climb was as smooth as his ascent up the El Jardin Hotel.
After his Matamoros climb, the super fly went on to perform in Mexico City.
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