The “doors” opened at 8 a.m., but many of you are just now starting to think about heading down to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the free, open-to-the-public We Are One Opening Inaugural concert. Here’s what you should know before you leave:
- The Lincoln Memorial is located between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW on 23rd Street.
- It’s cold today, but not as cold as it has been for the last couple of days. It’s predicted to get up to 39 degrees today, with a catch: there’s also a 50 percent chance of precipitation.
- The concert starts at 2:30 p.m.. No one is really sure how long it will last, but we think it’ll go until about 5 p.m. Expect each group or performer to play only two or three songs each. The televised version will be edited down to two hours, airing from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight on HBO, and streaming live for free on HBO.com and NPR.org. A message on HBO.com also indicates the web site may show the concert live this afternoon, but that’s the first we’ve heard about that possibility.
- The public entry gates are as follows:
A: Constitution Avenue at 19th Street
B: Constitution Avenue at Virginia Avenue
C: 17th Street at North Elm Walk
D: 17th Street at South Elm Walk
E: Independence Avenue at the DC War Memorial. - The Reflecting Pool area, JFK Hockey Fields and Constitution Gardens are open to the public and space will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Things you can’t bring: firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons, aerosols, supports for signs signs, any packages, coolers, thermal or glass containers, backpacks, bags and signs exceeding the size restrictions of 6″X4″X8″ (that’s tiny — roughly the size of a brown lunch bag), laser pointers, animals other than helper/guide dogs, structures, bicycles (park your bike well away from the Reflecting Pool and walk through the entry point).
- Both the Memorial Bridge and inbound Roosevelt Bridge are now closed to vehicular traffic for the concert. Inbound traffic on I-66 will be detoured to the 14th Street Bridge via Route 110 and Interstate 395 North. Pedestrians may walk across the Roosevelt Bridge on the sidewalk; however they may not walk across the Memorial Bridge.
- It won’t be quite like Tuesday will be, but numerous street closures are in effect. Most street closures will be lifted at 5 p.m. You can download all of today’s closures, and see a map of them, in this PDF.
- If you’re taking Metro, all the details of today’s service are here. Remember that Metrobus is actually operating on a Sunday schedule today, while Metrorail is offering additional trains and a 4th of July-type service all day. Metro passengers are encouraged to use the Farragut North, Metro Center, Farragut West, McPherson Square, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian, L’Enfant Plaza or Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter stations. Due to the closure of Memorial Bridge, Blue Line riders who may not exit at the Arlington Cemetery station, and must stay on their train and exit at one of the downtown Washington stations as they will not be able to cross the bridge.
