RSS FeedCrowds Await Entry Into Obama Inauguration Parade Route *updated*
With 40 minutes to go before officially allowing parade route entry, this is what the crowd looks like at 7th and D Streets NW.
6:50 am – Breaking out into occasional chants of “O-B-A-M-A” and “open the gate”, with 10 minutes to go to 7 am, 7th Street NW is fully packed past E Street NW with people streaming in from the Gallery Place Metro. Those waiting in the crowd have all been amazed at the number of people in line. Check after the break for the street level photos.
7:23 am – Gates are not open yet. Crowd is still growing.
8:49 am – Crowd size now stable but large. Still no movement into the parade route area.
9:26 am – 7th and D crowd now moving slowly; lots of foot traffic on 6th Street. People are gaining access to parade route. We’re closing this post out for now.
Street level view at the 7th and D Street NW entry gate
7th Street view from E Street NW towards D Street NW entry gate
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Comments
Be patient today. Many security units — little communication between them — everyone wants to be a chief and assert some form of authority.
Holy crap they’re disorganized. How is it possible that DC cops would have more authority than the Secret Service? They set up the gates 15 minutes EARLY (345 AM) and our SS Agent couldn’t get us through because the DC cops were ****.
Terrible communication.
The gate for purple ticket holders is still not (1st and Constitution) open. There are hundreds of people who have been waiting for hours to get in. There are no police or other officials present.
I just heard that the same thing is happening on the inddependence side of the capitol for blue tickets holders. Line is stretching blocks, is not moving and no one is providing any info to the poor folks freezing in line. This is very disappointing to hear. Has anyone heard anything?
the bleachers were so empty on the parade route. that’s going to make for some poor historical video records
Um yeah, I was in that crowd. We were among the first ones there and it tooks us 7 HOURS to get past the metal detectors. Let me also mention that the Virginia State police were watching us from a building above, taking pictures on their cell phones and eating donuts. Meanwhile below, kids were crying, people were being smashed, and NO ONE was giving any information or direction.
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I’m irked because I had to get to C and 6th NW for work, and the Secret Service told my office that the perimeter was only for the parade route and that checkpoints were going to be south of C. I had the hardest time convincing a cop to let me past D NW.