Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-05
CITY ALL AbLAZE
EXPRESSES ITS JOY
Day-l0ng Celebration Crowned
by Night Display.
A SPECTACLE OF BEAUTY
As Monument Lot Is Bathed in
Colored Fire.
THOUSANDS ENJOY THE SIGHT
Avenue Alight With Red and Green
Fire-Throngs Parade Past
New District Building.


by the dedication OF the new
home OF the District government and
one OF the closing features Of
the celebration by the citizens of the COM
in conne ction with that great
event. the White Lot last night for one
brief hour became veritable volcano OF
pyrotechnics. Kissing sky rockets burst
ing bombs. showers Of vari-coored stars.
prismatic torrents Of fire-in all a Niagara
of flashing tnts many times multiplied
wrote large upon the sky the joy OF
Washington in its acquisition OF a home
properly in keeping with the dignity OF
the local government of the Capital city
of the nation. Thousands upon thousands
of people were there. until ii seemed that
all of the residential sections of the city
must have been depopulated for the &C.
casion.
Halo Round New Home
And i'm strange appropria teness it hap
pened that the gentle breeze from the
southwest carried the heavy clouds OF
smoke directly over and around the new
District building until they hung as
halo in the bright glare of specially
focused electric arcs about the big white
structure.
The display Of fireworks on the White
Lot, scheduled to begin AT $50 o'clock.
was slightly delayed the first battery of
sky rockets being sent into the air at
o'clock. An hour later the last piece. a
fountain of pure white sparks, flashed out
the Good night signal
Then came the illumination of Pennsyl-
vania avenue. and the historic thorough
fare witnessed one of the greatest parades
In it's history
Red lights. green lights and white lights.
far eclipsing the every-night electric lamps.
hared in myriads from end to end of the.
avenue and thousands upon thousands of
home folks marched en- masse past the new
District building aand for squares farther
eastward before the return current car
ried them backward over the same route
II was an entirely spontaneous demon
stration of the happy spirit which AMI
mated the whole populace upon the re-
alization Of a long cherished dream.
The last red flare marking the term-
nation of the District of Columbias OBJ
servance of the 133d anniversary of the
natal day of the nation burned itself out
about IL O'Clock. though constantly di-
minishing volume Of explosions and fire
cracker tattoos all over the city carried
the private celebrations even past the mid
night hour.
Rain Didn't Interfere.
The heavy rain of the early evening
threw A temporary damper over the spirit
Of Independence day. because 1t threat
ened to spoil the most spectacular feature.
but the clouds rolled away in season and
the wet ground had no terrors fur the
steady streams of men, women - /, chill
dren who pressed through every avenue OF
approach to the White Lot. Alexandria.
Rockville and other neighboring towns sent
large delegations of visitors to Washington
to witness the display. that. at the ap-
pointed hour; all of the north slope from
the Monument all Of the drives and streets
crossing the Mall and hundreds of other
roof-tops and points OF vantage facing the
scene of the spectacle were crowded.
II is really not necessary to state that
the time -honored "Ah-h-h" greeted the
initial battery OF four soaring sky rockets.
Then for brief period came only more
rockets in lunches of four. five and six,
each bursting high in the air and releas-
ing stars of all colors.
Too Many to Count
One two three. six, twelve" counted
one small boy in the midst of the crowd
at the base of the monument in an effort
baubles released by one rocket, but he
soon gave up the census taking because
events moved too rapidly. Aerial bombs
burst into the midst of the rockets. and
salute of fully one hundred guns
kept the air ring ing. Persons seated or
standing i'm line with the northern face
of the monument had the benefit of re-
bound of sound from the high granite
shaft so that each explosion seemed
doubled in intensity. And throughout the
fireworks show the echoes played. back
and forth across the White Lot in an
unceasing pandemonium of sound.
Mere words are weak vehicles for the
portrayal of the whole scene. and even
the brush of a master would be taxed
in effort to reproduce such "A riot OF
color. There were flower gardens
galore shooting upward round balls OF
fire which burst and showered down stars
of all colors: other bombs which fur
nshed wiggly sprals of spars: sky rock
cts and bombs which sent chains OF tiny
fire-balls floating i'm the air,
and creations of the genius OF pyrotech-
mics which flashed out high i'm air that
the smoke and sparks together made the
effect of dainty spiders webs.
Lot Bathed in Fire.
All at once. when a temporary lull left
the whole park in darkness, the busy
corps of operators suddenly dropped the
Iife-giving sparks into long row OF pans
of powder and the lightness of day in red
and green fire overspread the multitude.
Probably the pieces de resistance were
500 one- pound bombs with twenty TO thir-
ty flowers each. All were ignited at
once and fountains of stars of all shades
of the rainbow were sent 100 to 200 feet
in the air. These drew round upon
round OF applause from the spectators
and a chorus of .'honks" from the auto
mobile section.
Undoubtedly the display was one of the
finest ever seen in the District of Column
bia II was the direct result OF the deter
mination of local citizsns. stimulated 10
action by hustling committees from the