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Fireworks! Everyone in Pittsburgh loves fireworks. Open a shopping mall, shoot off some fireworks, everybody comes. Finish a day at Kennywood with fireworks, everybody stays to the very last minute. Celebrate a boro day with fireworks. "Light Up Night" lights up the skies with fireworks. New Year's Eve, the Regatta, all are good reasons to shoot off some rockets and aerial bombs. But the biggest, best, most splendiferous of them all is the display Pittsburgh puts on for the 4th of July. We lived in Pittsburgh for 30 years before we decided to go to a Pittsburgh 4th of July display. Someone suggested that driving into town was not a good idea, and we decided to take the T. We parked at a friend's house - she and another friend made up our party - and walked to the T, only 6 blocks away. We carried lawn chairs, to see the display in comfort, and left in mid afternoon, the better to get a good spot on the lawn. How wrong we were! The T was crowded, and we entered at only the second stop. Holding the rail with one hand and our deck chairs with the other, we saw crowds standing of later stations, passed by because our car was already filled. We got off at Gateway, very close to the Point. Many others were headed in the same direction, but it wasn't until we had passed through the pedestrian tunnel that we realized how crowded it really was! 5 in the afternoon, and we couldn't see a spot where we could open our chairs. Finally, on the far side of the crowd, toward the fountain, there was a little piece of ground we could call our own for the evening. 
There was plenty of time. We each took a turn "guarding our spot" while the others walked around taking pictures, checking out the food or just crowd watching. Never before have I seen so many people in one spot! The grassy area was a sea of bodies. The river's edge was a mass of people, shoulder to shoulder, sitting along the quay. Throngs encircled the fountain, scattering onlyto avoid the wind driven spray. More crowded the banks on the other side of the river, and, too far for us to see, every available inch of viewing space on Mount Washington was filled, and at the West End overlook, too. |
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A short burst of fireworks to catch the attention of the crowd and a helicopter came into view, pulling a huge American flag. It circled the crowd while loudspeakers played the "Star Spangled Banner". The show had begun! Throughout the show, the loudspeakers played a local rock station, which was broadcasting music in synch with the fireworks. Sometimes, you could not hear the music, but it was an added effect. |
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and then ----
  And then it was over. |
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But my story is not over! When the shouting and the cheering ended, the crowd rose and began to move to the pedestrian tunnel. Everyone was in a good humor, no one seemed to mind the crush, or the terrible bottleneck the tunnel represented. Inside it, children screamed and yipped in falsetto, joyously listening to the echo it made. On the other side of the tunnel, the crowd fanned out, running across the lawn, jumping into the ditch that defined the original fort, climbing up the wall of the redoubt. It looked like a scene from a stalag escape movie. |
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Once free of the crowds, we made our way across the Smithfield St. bridge. Boats passed underneath us, headed to their marinas after an evening of celebration.
Although many Pittsburghers were using other means to get home, the T station was jammed packed. A PAT representative was standing outside, trying to divert some of the crowd to the shuttle busses waiting nearby. "Mt Lebanon" we said, and he pointed to one waiting a short distance away. It was one of the smaller shuttle busses, brand-new, and air conditioned! 3 women from Dormont were already on the bus. We waited a short while, and then the driver shut the doors and we were on our way. The route took us up over Mt. Washington and down onto W. Liberty. The driver and his 7 passengers joked and chatted as he drove. No stops until we arrived in Dormont, where the three women departed. "Where in Mt. Lebanon are you headed?" the driver asked us. We told him and, as his route passed Karen's street on the way to the T station, he let us off there. What a grand finale to a grand evening! Why do Pittsburghers love fireworks so? I think of the ladles of molten steel, pouring rivulets of red, hissing metal, sparks flying. We once were a city of noise, and smoke and firey skies. It's in our blood.
But I actually belive it is because we have so much of them, and they are so good! Most shows are produced by Zambelli Fireworks International, which is located in New Castle, PA, just north of the city. They have always given Pittsburgh their best shot! We are spoiled, that's what. |