Two big bangs for the Fourth of July: Amphitheater fireworks and Tutwiler demolition

For pet owners who dread the Fourth of July's ever-popping firecrackers driving pooches under porches, Monday's offering up a double big bang, from the morning's demolition of Tutwiler Hall to the evening's fireworks extravaganza capping the city of Tuscaloosa's Celebration on the River.

At 7 a.m., the old Tutwiler freshman women's dormitory, second on the University of Alabama campus to bear that name, will be brought down in a controlled implosion. Its replacement Tutwiler has been built adjacent, along with a new parking deck, and will be ready to house incoming students this fall.

Where the old 13-story dorm stands until Monday morning, that area, once cleared off, will be landscaped into a green space with a winding pathway leading from the new dorm to the Bryant Drive Supe Store/Starbucks.

RELATED: How the new Julia Tutwiler Hall will improve the student experience at the University of Alabama

TIMELINE: A timeline of Julia Tutwiler Hall on the University of Alabama campus

How the Tutwiler demolition will work

Within about 2,000 holes drilled into structural columns, about 675 pounds of dynamite will be packed and detonated. The walls should come tumbling down in roughly 20 seconds. D.H. Griffin Wrecking Company from Birmingham and Dykon Explosive Demolition Corp. from Bixby, Oklahoma are handling the project.

Because a large safety area will close streets for blocks around, those wishing to watch are encouraged to do so via livestream, at www.news.ua.edu/tutwiler.

A small public viewing area will be available on the top of the Magnolia Parking Deck at 800 Paul W. Bryant Dr. Parking will be available on the first two floors of the deck, and in surface lots around. Dust masks will be provided to spectators watching from the deck.

Streets closing at 5 a.m. Monday include:

• Paul W. Bryant Drive from Sixth Avenue to Wallace Wade Avenue.

• 10th Avenue from 12th Street to Paul W. Bryant Drive.

• 12th Street from Eighth Avenue to 10th Avenue.

• Eighth Avenue from Paul W. Bryant Drive to 12th Street.

• Colonial Drive from Paul W. Bryant Drive to Judy Bonner Drive.

• Magnolia Drive from Paul W. Bryant Drive to Judy Bonner Drive.

Also, the following streets will be closed beginning at 5 a.m. to westbound traffic at Seventh Avenue: 10th Alley; 11th Street; and 11th Alley. All those will begin re-opening after the implosion.

Fourth of July fireworks

More than half a day later, a 20-minute fireworks extravaganza will close out Celebration on the River, the city of Tuscaloosa's traditional Independence Day party, which also includes an afternoon of children's events, followed by live music culminating in an hour-long pops concert by the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. The TSO will also score patriotic music under the rockets' red glare.

"This would be such a wonderful first TSO concert for someone who's never been," said Natassia Perrine, the symphony's new executive director, noting the widely-recognizable melodies of the pops show. It will be the TSO's first performance since Perrine assumed the leadership role in late spring.

Monday's concert repertoire includes classical pieces, movie themes and Broadway tunes, chosen by TSO Music Director Adam Flatt in collaboration with guest conductor Stefan Sanders, who also wielded the baton for Tuscaloosa's 2021 Celebration concert.

"There's even some rock 'n' roll," Perrine said, including Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody."  "I couldn't believe what I was reading. I really think everybody can find one or two things, if not more, to sing along with."

There'll be familiar themes from movie magician John Williams, including works from his "Star Wars" and "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" scores. The TSO, with Sanders, will begin at 7:55 p.m. and play until 8:55, at which time Mayor Walt Maddox will make brief remarks. After that, the TSO will return to play under the 20-minute pyrotechnical show.

Such celebratory bombast dates back to the day delegates from 13 colonies officially adopted Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1776.

Pre-revolution, colonists had celebrated King George III's birthdays, but as revolutionary fervor boiled in the summer of 1776, mock funeral celebrations were held for the king, symbolizing the division with monarchy. Concerts, bonfires, parades, and the firing of muskets and cannons accompanied early public readings of the Declaration of Independence, on July 8.

Fireworks flared at the first organized celebration of Independence Day, July 4, 1777, in Philadelphia. After an elegant dinner, military displays, and a Hessian band's performance, explosives filled the sky.

The Pennsylvania Evening Post newspaper wrote: “... at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated.” Armed ships in the harbor each fired 13-gun salutes.  A grassroots group of radical provocateurs calling themselves the Sons of Liberty also set off fireworks that night over Boston Common.

Celebrating the Fourth of July with raucous goings-on gradually caught on in other U.S. cities. Boston was the first to declare it an official holiday, in 1783, but Independence Day fervor really caught fire after the War of 1812. Fireworks had become more commonly available, so actual guns and cannons were left to official uses. In 1870, Congress adopted it as a federal holiday.

'GOOD THING THESE OLD WALLS CAN'T TALK': Former Tutwiler Hall residents recall University of Alabama days

PREVIOUSLY: University of Alabama sells Tutwiler dorm's bricks, room numbers as fundraiser for scholarships

Interesting note: John Adams, a revolutionary leader and eventually the second U.S. President, thought the party should be held two days earlier, commemorating when the Continental Congress had voted in favor of Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence. Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival…It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

Estimates suggest U.S. citizens spend about $1 billion on and around each July 4, on roughly 268 million pounds of fireworks. Only about 10 percent of those are set off by professionals, like the roughly $20,000 show being prepared for Celebration on the River by Adamsville-based Pyro Shows of Alabama

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the summer of 2017 saw 12,900 firework-related ER visits across the U.S., with hands, heads, and faces suffering most damage from roman candles, bottle rockets, sparklers, and other assorted pyrotechnics. Ninety-nine percent of those all-American-seeming crackers are imported from China, where fireworks originated. Sticks of bamboo filled with gunpowder could be bought in market stalls as early the Song Dynasty (960–1279).

The non-explosive kids' zone will open inside the Amp at 6 p.m. Monday, with games and activities aimed at all ages. DJ Tank will perform from 6-7:55 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to park in the city's free parking deck, on 23rd Ave between Sixth and Seventh streets, just behind City Hall, and take a shuttle, or walk the blocks to the Amphitheater.

Accessible parking also will be available in the Amp's box office parking lot. For security purposes, the clear bag policy will be in effect. Those not wishing to attend in person can view the fireworks show from multiple spots on either side of the Black Warrior River, in Northport and Tuscaloosa.

Those wanting up-to-date information or updates about Celebration on the River can sign up to receive text alerts for weather and event information by sending “TUSC4TH” to 888-777. For more information, visit tuscaloosa.com/COTR.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa fireworks, Tutwiler demolition planned for 4th of July