Some business saw us taking a road trip recently from our side of the Pennsylvania to the other side. We found ourselves in New Castle, PA. The town lovingly calls itself the “fireworks capital of America” as it is home to Pyrotecnico Fireworks and Zambelli Fireworks. In fact they recently held a fireworks festival here in town but we missed it. But there are small hints of the town’s proud connections to the fireworks industry around town.
New Castle, PA isn’t a large city or even a big town. It’s got a relatively small downtown area but so many of the buildings gracing its streets are old and beautiful, full of art deco style. There’s lots of brick and lots of artistic flair. It’s quite pretty. New Castle was also the site of the first Warner Brothers movie theater, the Cascade, which is now remembered with a shopping center on the site with its name.
But getting back to the fireworks, New Castle has a small square in the heart of the downtown area named in honor of George Zambelli. There’s a gazebo and plenty of benches. But there’s also a neat monument of sorts to Zamebelli. The monument is done in a retro art style commemorating the fireworks company without being too literal about it. It depicts four fireworks, bursting into the air. It’s actually pretty neat.
