The Mall will be open to crowds on inauguration day!
That’s right – they’re expecting such huge crowds for the inauguration of Barack Obama that they’re extending the viewing area to the Mall in London, England!
Wait. What? You mean there’s another Mall?
“In keeping with its pledge to make the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama one of the most open and accessible in history, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced today that, for the first time, the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point in sight of the Capitol.
The PIC has worked closely with officials from the District of Columbia government, the National Park Service, the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC), and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) to make space at this historic location available to members of the public who are unable to obtain tickets to the swearing-in. Those who come to witness the swearing-in on the Mall will be able to watch and listen to the ceremony on large screens that will be provided by the PIC along the Mall.”
The Mall is part of the big stretch of park in Washington which starts in the East by the Capitol building (here’s a pic I took on my first – nay, inaugural! – trip to DC, last January) -
- and which ends in the West with the Lincoln Memorial (yes, it really is much bigger than you imagine) -
- and in between the two is the Washington Monument (the flags were at half mast for the funeral of Gerald Ford) -
The latter two are, of course, most famously connected by a long lake called the Reflecting Pool the sight of Clint Eastwood watching Rene Russo walking down the steps and saying to himself: “If she turns around, she’s interested”. In In The Line Of Fire. Just one of many Washington-based movies which I must make a point of rewatching before I head over there in January. Although I might get a little jittery at the sight of a passing motorcade if I do.
Here’s a map to make it even clearer (A marks the Capitol building. No idea what B marks. Possibly Secret Service sharpshooters working under the orders of Clint Eastwood):
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