The however many million people visiting D.C. this week did not disappoint, filling a whole episode’s worth of overheards. They came from far and wide, and their statements were sometimes funny or poignant, and other times made us think of what esteemed journalist Kent Brockman once said: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, democracy simply doesn’t work.” Overheard of the Week: At Sticky Fingers bakery in Columbia Heights on Monday: Employee…

Photo of the now infamous Purple Ticket line by Kevin H. Officials have estimated approximately 4,000 ticket holders never made it inside the Swearing-In ceremony. Attention all inaugural ticket holders who are still smarting over harrowing security gate experiences: the Presidential Inaugural Committee really does feel bad. To prove it, they are offering to give you free stuff. Said stuff is said to be copies of the Swearing-In invitation and program, photos of President…

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, entered his motorcade at around 3:30 p.m. EST at the U.S. Capitol, and started traveling at a slow roll down Pennsylvania Ave. toward the White House. The parade got off to a late start — the inaugural schedule is now running about an hour behind, which will mean that road closures and traffic conditions in the District of Columbia will persist later than city planners had…

Photo by gattoraffa By now we’ve received dozens of tips and reports from readers as they made their way away from the National Mall. Some people told us about how they never made it inside an area where they had tickets—both at the Swearing-In and along the parade route. Others expressed relief at having had an easier time than they expected. There was word of pushing and shoving as crowds trying to leave the…

Photo by primplan Good Inauguration Day morning, Washington! It looks like a lot of you got up early. Really, really early. At 6 a.m., we were already getting concerned text messages from our correspondents who saw on television that the front part of the National Mall appeared to be almost full. By 6:11 a.m., Metro’s parking lots at the New Carollton, Greenbelt, and Branch Ave. Metro stations, three of the largest lots at the…

Photo by timkelley I’ve been following all the transportation plans and announcements for weeks. I’ve poured over Metrobus corridor plans, street closure maps, parking restriction maps, Metrorail station closures, bridge closure rules, jumbotron locations, and lists of security checkpoint entrances. And to all of you out there still sitting there, at 10 p.m. on Inauguration Eve, wondering exactly which way you’re going to get down to the Inauguration festivities tomorrow morning, all I can…

Photo by dullshick Some of the 5,000 people who have bleacher tickets to the Inaugural Parade route on Tuesday need to check the attitude. Look at this washingtonpost.com chat with D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. One person asks Lanier to clear up some perceived confusion about what will happen once the parade route reaches capacity. Do ticket holders really need to show up as early as those who will be in the standing room-only…

The Inaugural Lunch For D.C. residents and visitors alike, it seems like the planning for Inauguration has been haphazard at best. Even the people tasked with running the show don’t know what’s going on. But there is one thing we can all be certain of on Tuesday: the Inaugural lunch. The Senate has put together an entire webpage devoted to Barack Obama’s first meal as president, complete with wine pairings and recipes. The meal,…

You already knew that the Secret Service had ordered the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter and the Smithsonian Metro stations to be closed on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20, for security reasons. Now comes word that two additional stations, Judiciary Square and Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St Convention Center, will also close for part of the day due to their proximity to locations hosting Inaugural Balls. The Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St Convention Center station on the Green/Yellow…

Did you brave Sunday’s cold temperatures to take in the official rehearsal of the presidential inauguration ceremonies? A few of our Flickr contributors did, and they grabbed these shots to share with DCist readers. Some of the reports from the rehearsal paint a bleak picture of inaugural readiness. WTOP says a communication snafu between the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee and DDOT led to no one knowing that parts of Constitution and Independence avenues were going…