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Federal Govt. Closed Tuesday
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Morning Roundup: After the Snowfall Edition
Like many District residents, DCist writers and visitors, I made an extra-early trek down to the National Mall this morning for the swearing-in of President Barack Obama. Arriving in darkness, the U.S. Capitol cut a stark contrast against the dark sky as thousands of people populated the Mall in anticipation of the morning's events.
With all the blogging, Twittering and Flickr'ing, there isn't much that I can add to the thousands of different stories and experiences from the day. But as the holder of DCist's only official media pass to the event, I was treated to something that I won't soon forget.
A large media center was set up on the northern side of the Mall just beyond 7th Street. From there, hundreds of broadcast and print journalists filed reports, fanned out to gain a sense of the crowd and -- if they were big enough -- occasionally retire to their heated trailers for a brief respite from the elements. Not having much beyond a camera phone and a pen, I did my best to walk around, talk to fellow attendees and find the words to describe the magnitude and excitement of the event. But as one person, there's only so much you can ever really experience -- sure, it seemed crowded, but I couldn't easily get a sense of just how crowded it really was.
Until they broke out the cherry-picker. Invited by some of the media center's support staff, I joined a number of other journalists and photographers on a mechanical lift that raised us 40-50 feet off the ground. As we rose above the crowd, we caught a glimpse of just how far the crowd extended and how densely it was packed in on the otherwise barren expanse of the National Mall. As we marveled at the scene below us, a mention of President Obama on the loudspeakers provoked the hundreds of thousands of people we could see -- this doesn't even include those who surely watched from beyond the Washington Monument -- into a frenzy of flag-waving and cheering. I dare say that even the more seasoned journalists up there with me were caught with dropped jaws.
Initial reports on attendance at the swearing-in have pegged it at 1.4 million, others are saying 2 million -- either way, the largest in history. It's usually extremely hard to imagine what that many people look like, but having had the chance to see a large portion of that isn't something I'll soon forget.
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CNN's satellite overview of the Mall was amazing. The thing that stands out is how everyone gathers around their jumbo tron. Which also revealed that large gaps of the Mall E. of 14th was empty. So more jumbo trons might have spread the crowd out better. Judging from that satellite view I say the attendance at the mall (Cap to Linc)1.0million. Add the parade, 1.3 total.
CNN's satellite view was "as of 11:19 am" and was NO where near what it looked like during and after the ceremony...in my opinion.
I agree - the shadows seem too long, and I'm pretty sure more people filled in to the north and east of the Monument (near where I was standing).
It's a little frustrating to see all that empty space between 9th and 7th streets, when we were blocked at 14th by 10am or so!
Pretty sure the empty space around the Washington Monument was the rise of the hill where you can't see the Capitol at all.
There was also empty space between 15th and 14th just east of the Washington Monument, which was completely blocked to the crowds. Can't quite figure that one.
just wanted to thank you - Martin and all of dcist - for the great coverage today. I really appreciate all the pictures and you guys going out reporting on what's going on. keep up the good work guys!
I was near the WW II memorial and there were definitely a lot more people in the area between where I was standing and the Washington Monument by the time it was over.