10/17/2026
A daredevil at Miller’s Hall! Long before he became one of America’s best-known balloonists, Washington Harrison Donaldson was a traveling magician, ventriloquist, tightrope walker and daredevil—and he brought his act to Miller’s Hall in downtown Delaware.
This newspaper advertisement promised Donaldson’s “celebrated entertainments” inside Miller’s Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings. But the real spectacle started outside. At 4 p.m., Donaldson would walk a tightrope from the top of Miller’s Hall to the rooftop across the street—and perform on a trapeze along the way.
And his story only gets more incredible.
Donaldson later turned his attention to ballooning, performing daring aerial feats and eventually working for legendary showman P. T. Barnum. In 1875, he disappeared during a balloon flight over Lake Michigan and was never found.
There’s even an unexpected literary connection: The Annotated Wizard of Oz suggests that Donaldson may have helped inspire L. Frank Baum’s Wizard—a magician, ventriloquist and showman with a rather important connection to a balloon.
Just another day at Miller’s Hall!
The more we uncover, the more we realize that this building wasn't simply a place to gather—it was a place to see what everyone was talking about. And we have to say that finding these notices and then doing some research is proving to be much fun! Article credit to the Delaware Gazette and Photo from findagrave.com.
More than 160 years later, we're excited to bring that spirit of gathering, entertainment and discovery back to the Miller Building with 1854 Market Hall.
