Photo by adamsjp2010

The election hasn’t yet happened, but the wheels are in motion for the January 21 presidential inauguration.

Earlier this week part of the U.S. Capitol’s West Front was closed off so that construction can begin on the Presidential Inauguration stands from where President Obama will give his second inaugural speech or Republican challenger Mitt Romney will give his first as the 45th president of the United States.

D.C. officials have similarly been preparing for the big weekend. D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier recently told the Washingtonian that she started planning for the inaugural festivities nine months ago, but that she doesn’t expect it to top Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

City officials are also ahead of the game, having passed a law earlier this year that again allows D.C. bars to stay open for extended hours during the five days of the inauguration, from January 15 to 21.