While tens of thousands of visitors sought out unobstructed views of the KaBoom Fireworks Monday night, hundreds of others chose to stand in or near the intersection of Broad and Front streets to watch the action from behind a scrim of storefronts.

Not all the pyrotechnics were visible from this unconventional vantage point. But those that cleared the rooflines repainted the downtown, if only for a flash, and proved the street throngs were onto something.