Saturday, July 2, 2016

4th of July Fireworks in New York City!


Last year I was fortunate to be in New York City during the Fourth of July weekend and able to watch the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Display from the Brooklyn promenade looking at the Lower Manhattan skyline.


My husband, and I and friends gathered early in the evening in order to get a good viewing point. You can see one of the Macy's fireworks barges in the East River preparing for the show.  This year will be the 40th anniversary of the annual fireworks display.


As the evening progressed more and more people arrived and passed through security to line up along the fences. There was a definite air of happy anticipation in the air!


The fireworks would not be shot off until the sky was dark, so we waited and waited.  My husband used to work in a building along the lower Manhattan East River shore so we would go into his office to watch the fireworks in the past. Click here to see an older post about that.


The buildings of the city skyline began to glow with their interior lights and we knew the show was about to begin.  One of my friends brought a radio so we could hear the announcers and music of the Macy's show. It began with the Star Spangled Banner and then......


Boom!  Boom! Boom! 


It was a fun sight to see everyone holding up their cell phones cameras to record the fireworks!


There were many barges in the East River shooting off fireworks of all kinds but I was only able to get a good view of the one directly in front of me. The view on TV is much more coordinated to give a better over view of the entire display....


...but it was still very exciting to be there in person to enjoy the show!


The crowd said "Oh!" and "Ah!" and kept clicking their cell phones.


It definitely was a sight to see!


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44 comments:

diane b said...

I hope you have an equally exciting time this year, although NYC fireworks would be hard to top.

Jeanne said...

Good morning Pat, We have had problems with our internet all week. It was up and down constantly. On Monday I never did get to visit everyone. Sigh! They said it was a power problem and finally it was fixed and working great as of yesterday.

I love your fireworks post. The photos are good considering it is night time. Did you use the night time setting on your camera? NY is a fabulous place to visit...Especially Manhattan. Macy's is always a good show in anything they do.

Happy 4th of July. Our daughter and her hubby will be here. Oh Joy!!! No grand kids this summer for the first time in over 20 years. They are all in college and busy with their lives. How did that happen so fast? Smile.
xo,
Jeanne

Linda W. said...

Ha! I love all the arms holding cell phones to capture the fireworks! Looks like a great show (the fireworks too!)

Barbara said...

This is a great blog post, Pat! I enjoyed your descriptions and all the pictures. It must be thrilling to see fireworks in NYC!

eileeninmd said...

Hello, beautiful photos of NYC and the fireworks. I think this will be on TV this year, maybe I will try to watch.

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy 4th of JULY.

Betty said...

That must have been so much fun!!!

Al said...

Nice shots - I love fireworks and would love to see the NYC display. I was in Boston once for the 4th, that was fun.

podso said...

This reminds me of the fireworks we saw over the river from Liberty Island--at least it was called that back then. I think it was the Statue of Liberty's 200th birthday? Beautiful photographs!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Great way to celebrate; I had never heard about this -- the Thanksgiving Parade of course, but not the Fourth of July fireworks. Probably because we have never watched TV much during the summer. i wish you a joyful Colorado Fourth -- the fireworks may not be as spectacular, but I just bet the company will be wonderful!!

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

How exciting to be there on the Forth, Pat. Your photos are great! You had a wonderful spot for viewing the celebration. Enjoy your holiday with your family. We just returned from a weeks vacation and we have no particular plans. We'll grill dinner and watch the fireworks from our patio. ♥

Anonymous said...

A sight to see for sure. How nice that you could share it with us. It would be fun to spend the 4th in many different cities in the U.S.A.

Ola said...

The sky looked beatiful! Really amazing!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Wow, what a show. I love fireworks but like baseball you kind of have to be there to really enjoy them. Tulsa has a great fireworks show. We used to get there and wait for hours but the last several years we have figured out a way to get in late and get out ahead of everybody.

annie said...

Have a glorious 4th!

Rajesh said...

Happy Independence day. Fabulous images of crackers.

Unknown said...

Happy 4th Pat and family. Don't think you could beat NYC. Wonderful layout by you for this post. Raining here for 2days. Some delays in fireworks shows.

Unknown said...

Great photos! Happy 4th!!!
—Charles

Jeanna said...

Happy Fourth to you, a happy photo set. Kudos for braving the NYC crowds. Great fireworks and crowd shots.

LV said...

What a lovely display. Loved it. Was not too trilled on the one and only visit I had to New York.

Lea said...

Wonderful photos!
Happy 4th of July!

Pamela S said...

Your photography is so beautiful. We are watching them on TV right now for this year!! Perfect

Gemma Wiseman said...

Such a pretty display of bursting colour in the night sky.

Andrea said...

Great, that's a lot of beautiful celebration fireworks photos. I most specially love that first one.

Jeanne said...

Hello Pat, We were gone all day with our daughter and her husband and I did not realize until very late in the day that the Linky was not up. Too late to fix it and I can promise I will fix this with some help from my friend Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. She set it up for me and I need help to figure out what I am doing wrong. Yikes. I am soooo sorry.
No doubt is is OE (operator error) Sigh!
Wishing you a great week.
xo,
Jeanne

Anonymous said...

Great to be in your "old town" and see the fire works there and lovely photo of it to share with SEASONS for the 4th of July! The "waiting" time is definitely a part of the fun:) Excellent photos of the fireworks! Hard to choose a favorite...maybe the first...
Have a great time this week:)

NCSue said...

Beautiful shots - so festive.
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/07/happy-independence-day.html

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Beautiful shots

carol l mckenna said...

Gorgeous NYC photos and wonderful fireworks shot!

Happy Week to you ~ ^_^

Donna said...

Oh Pat what a special display to watch...lucky you! I am so glad you shared these photos. And I am so glad you had a wonderful Fourth with community and family this year!

Rhonda Albom said...

Awesome fireworks photos.

Ruth said...

So stunning! I need to take some photography classes with you!

Jocelyn said...

Amazing! Great pictures.

Jocelyn @ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Lady Fi said...

Wonderful shots.

Indrani said...

Wow! That is a wonderful collage made with fireworks!
Great pics.
Happy ABCW!

Latane Barton said...

How exciting to have seen that. I love fireworks, unfortunately ours was cancelled because of bad weather.

betty-NZ said...

What a beautiful celebration of our great nation!

Life at Still Woods said...

That must have been a wonderful experience! You were able to get some terrific shots. Seeing that you grew up in New York, you must have enjoyed that sight many times. It sounds like you had a great spot to observe from your husband's office. Thanks for sharing!
Blessings from Lynda at Still Woods Farmhouse

Stacey said...

I saw this year's NYC fireworks on TV and for the first time ever, I wished I were there. It would be a once in a lifetime thing to be there for such an event. :)

TheChieftess said...

Beautiful shots!!! Love the fireworks against the city lights!

annie said...

I like the photo of all the phones in the air!
How times have changed.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

What a fun post and gorgeous shots of the celebration! :)

Art and Sand said...


Thanks for sharing with SYC.

Rambling Woods said...

Wow what a treat Pat and you captured it so perfectly....Michelle

Anonymous said...

Oh, that is so dreamy. I always think NYC during the holidays would be spectacular, but the 4th would be awesome. I might have to reconsider when I visit the Big Apple.

Lisa @ Life Thru Lens