There are some pretty amazing fireworks here in the US during the fourth, so we thought it might be fun, as a homage to the holiday, to come up with a list of the best fireworks displays in the country.
Of course we have to start with Boston given that that is where the Gator was born. Boston’s amazing Fourth of July fireworks show is launched from a barge on the Charles River. It takes pyrotechnicians (now there is a cool job) two weeks just to set up the thousands and thousands of mortars that are launched in under 30 minutes. Even more amazing, each explosion is set to music played live by the Boston Pops.
The river is a sea of boats and the shorelines on both sides of the river are usually packaged with hundreds of thousands of spectators. Definitely take the subway (the Boston T) to the party that starts mid evening and don’t expect to get home anytime soon after it ends as the T stations fill to the brims. Boston is definitely a great place to spend the fourth!
Of course we’d be remiss to leave the fireworks display in Washington, DC off our list of the best Fourth of July celebrations out there. The capital has one of the shorter shows in the country but it still puts on one of the best. The display is right on the National Mall and frames the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Of course, the show is launched way up on the sky to make sure it clears the Washington Monument’s 555 foot peak.
The Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show entertains nearly three million people every year. The show is set off from four barges on the East River and contains more than twenty thousand shells. It is the largest display on the 4th and second largest in the US all year long. Plus you get to spend the holiday in New York City. Now who can turn that down?
Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful lakes in the country and provides an amazing backdrop to a pretty amazing fireworks display on the fourth of July. The lake acts like a mirror so you get to see everything twice! The show is shot from barges offshore and consists of around 5,000 shells and effects. It isn’t the biggest display in the country but you cannot beat the location.
The show in Philadelphia is sponsored by Sunoco and is the culmination of a week-long celebration. The fireworks display is located over the Museum of Art on the Ben Franklin Parkway and is preceded by a free outdoor concert.
Columbus sets their show on the Scioto River in downtown and the show, traditionally called Red, White and Boom, is seen by more than half a million people. It is the largest fireworks show in the Midwest. The downtown riverfront is the best place to watch the 30 minute show.
The fireworks show in Atlantic City is sponsored by the casino hotls Borgata and Harrah’s and they typically throw everything they’ve got at the production. The display is nearly thirty minutes long and is best viewed right between the two hotels.
Sea World, San Antonio, TX
Once again a lake serves as the backdrop for a pretty amazing fireworks show on the 4th of July. The display at Sea World is full of ground effects and few of the shells explode any higher than 25 feet off the water. So we’re guessing things are pretty intense. Sounds like fun!
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial
The Fourth of July show at Mt. Rushmore is one of the more unique displays in the country. The shells are launched from 500 feet up the mountain and explode over the heads of the presidents. The most amazing thing is that there is now way up except for on ropes, one shell at a time. It is pretty impressive for a display that consists of thousands of explosions.
Now this is one we want to see.
For a city where it rains most of the year, you wouldn’t expect that Seattle would chance a fireworks show but it is actually one of the best shows in the country. Every year over fifty thousand people gather at Lake Union for the annual fireworks display. The show is twenty minutes long and launches over 2,300 shells. Plus you get to hang in Seattle for the weekend which is one of our favorite cities here at the Gator…even when it rains.
Disney World, Orlando, Florida
The Disney show is short – only thirteen minutes long – but is launched from twenty-four different locations in the park including the clock tower of Cinderella's Castle.
The cool thing about this show is that after it is over, you still get to try the amusement rides!
