The Story of Joplin’s Newman Building – Part 4: Spectacle on Main Street – The Human Fly Stunt (1924)
On Tuesday, May 27, 1924, the people of Joplin gathered in the heart of downtown for a spectacle that promised both excitement and danger. At 5 o’clock that afternoon, Louis Delesslin Bartlett and Walter Allen, described in the Joplin Globe as “so-called human flies,” were scheduled to climb the exterior of the Newman Brothers Building at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets. The announcement promised more than just a climb. Once at the top, they would give a demonstration of chair balancing, and along the way they would perform headstands on window ledges high above the street.
Bartlett was thirty years old and already an experienced showman. Born December 17, 1893, in Atlanta, Georgia, he had spent years performing daring feats in cities across the United States. He had been married twice, first to Laura Pierre in Ontario, Canada, and later to Pauline Grace Thayer, with whom he had one son. His skill, strength, and fearless approach to climbing made him a standout among human flies, a term used for performers who scaled buildings using only the structures themselves for support. Walter Allen, his partner for the Joplin stunt, was a seasoned acrobat known for acts of balance and strength. He could perform headstands without the use of his hands and had mastered the art of working on narrow ledges far above the ground.
By the appointed hour, Main Street was packed. Crowds gathered on the sidewalks and spilled into the street, while others leaned out of nearby windows for a better view. At precisely 5 o’clock, Bartlett and Allen began their climb. The Newman Building, completed in 1910, rose seven stories and featured the kind of decorative cornices, stonework, and window frames that human flies relied upon for handholds and footholds. As the pair ascended, they paused at window ledges to perform headstands, drawing gasps from the spectators.
When they reached the roofline, Allen prepared a chair for the final act. Balancing it on the narrow surface, he mounted it and held a steady pose high above the city. The audience below responded with awe, their attention fixed on the two men silhouetted against the late afternoon sky.
The climb was completed without incident, and Bartlett and Allen descended to the street the same way they had gone up. The crowd erupted in cheers at the sight of them safely on the ground. For Joplin, it was a thrilling moment of live entertainment that could stop a city in its tracks.
Tragically, this performance would prove to be one of Bartlett’s last. On June 7, 1924, less than two weeks later, he was in Columbia, Missouri for another climb. During that attempt, a rubber tire inner tube he was using for support snapped, sending him fifty feet to the pavement. He died from his injuries at the age of thirty, ending a career that, though brief, had pushed the limits of courage, skill, and public spectacle.
The Newman Building climb of May 27, 1924 remains an unforgettable part of Joplin’s history. It was a day when a young daredevil and his skilled partner transformed the city’s most prominent department store into a stage for a performance of precision, fearlessness, and showmanship.