By Patrick Pho
We all know Washington, DC is a city that likes to drink and party. Add The President and you have a good reason to grab a tux or gown and brave the cold. That’s what many of our We Love DC crew did as they hit up the Official and Unofficial parties celebrating the Inauguration of Barack Obama. Here’s what they saw and heard.
By Patrick Pho
Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.
Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.
By Ben H. Rome
In case you were under a rock yesterday, we had us an Inauguration yesterday. Our 44th President was sworn in on the steps of the Capitol while an estimated two million people witnessed it and the following parade.
Our prolific area photographers were out in force yesterday; many of them you’ll recognize from prior visits to the Flashback. I encourage you to check out our Flickr feed, as all but one of the following shots came from it. And for images around the world, check out a special Flickr section that features some great shots taken by photographers outside our Beltway.
Many, many thanks to our regular pool contributors; you guys made my job extremely hard today with all the great photos. Keep it up!
By brownpau
With most of Union Station’s Grand Hall reserved for tonight’s inaugural ball, and the Metro station and rail concourse already packed to capacity, the crowd entering Union Station had to be divided into Metro, Amtrak, and MARC/VRE riders. Confusion reigned outside as the Columbus Circle road was closed off, forcing people to circle around sidewalks and fences and clumps of National Guard and MPD personnel.
How was it for you?
By Amélie
Breakin' Beats Breakin' the Club
D.C. begins it’s musical revelry for the Inauguration of Barack Obama on Sunday with both concerts for the masses but also in smaller venues. Tonight, or this morning if you take it that way, Moby is now on stage at the 9:30 Club with a sold out show expected to end at 4:30am this morning. This is the first such event at the club to push past the normal D.C. curfew for alcohol and noise. If you can still get a ticket, it’s one of the most intimate and loose events of the next two days of celebration.
At approximately 1:32am, Moby “broke” the club. The entire club’s power supply tripped and sent revelers into a chant of “yes we can” as attempts to restore the life back to the club continued. At least the bar servers were still able to dispense alcohol in the bottle format to keep the “mob”-y at bay.
By Wayan
So for all the Inaugural hype, let’s have a serious answer: are you really gonna brave this cold for politics?
I mean really, folks, its gonna be freezing at best. Then there are the crowds, the security lines, and after the long walk from wherever, just to stand on the mall and catch a chill, is it worth it? Yes, its historic, but so was November 4th. And January 21.
Besides, all you’re really gonna see of Barak Obama is a Jumbotron. The same you’d see from the warmth of your own home. Or what I’ll be seeing from mine.
By Max
T.N.T by Podknox
If you were thinking about riding your bike to the Mall on Sunday, wearing a backpack full of explosives and your pet giraffe in tow – think again. According to DC’s Inauguration site, you can basically bring your clothed body, but leave your “pot to pee in” at home. Here’s a breakdown of the restricted items (after the jump): Continue reading
By Rebecca
by NCinDC
For the last three weeks my roommates and I have been trying to rent our 3 bedroom apartment for inauguration week. Our marketing plan has employed two tactics: 1) emailing friends from all over about the rental opportunity and asking them to advertise it (via an attached poster) to anyone who might be interested. And 2) posting to DC’s craigslist.
We’ve had a 0% return on investment. Not one lead, bite or even nibble.
Yesterday, I checked craigslist and found that the entire sublet section was over run with inauguration rental opportunities. If anyone is looking for a non-inauguration subletting opportunity, good luck, because you’re going to have to sort through a list of every DC, MD and VA residence.
Are there success stories out there? If so, how did you do it? Or are these $30,000 stories, the stuff of urban legends?
Presidential Inaguaration Site, courtesy chip py the photo guy
Tom and I keep getting asked by our out of town friends and relatives what it’s like to live in the middle of history as DC prepares for Inauguration 2009. I always explain it this way- DC went through the motions to get ready for Christmas, with the National Tree Lighting and whatnot, but the economy is in the tank so no one wants to talk about Christmas anyway. The any visions of sugarplums dancing in heads in DC have been for the Inauguration. With that in mind, a few Inauguration-related items from across the Internets:
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