National Mall Opens for Barack Obama’s Inauguration

by A. Tran | December 4, 2008 at 10:06 pm

2608 views | 43 Recommendations | 17 comments

The inauguration will take place at noon, on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office with the following:

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural committee has announced on Dec. 4 that the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public during the Presidential Inauguration .

This unprecedented step offers by President-elect Obama is another change from previous presidential inaugurations by allowing the public to fill the Mall. Traditionally, the Mall has been closed off for a parade staging area during the Inauguration.

The National Park Service has announced that jumbo TV screens will line the Mall to give the public the opportunity to view Mr. Obama’s swearing-in ceremony. The Park Service officials estimated about 2 million people will be in attendance.

Additionally, the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue will open its doors to offer visitors a warm viewing place along the parade route. Ms. Susan Bennett, spokesperson of Newseum, says that the officials have approved plans to open the museum from 10 am to 10 pm on Inauguration Day.

The Newseum building has several balconies with prime views of Pennsylvania Avenue. TV networks have already reserved the outdoor balconies with views of the Capitol for their uses.

Tickets will be sold on the Newseum website. Apply to volunteer for the Inaugural events.

Other Inauguration-related articles done by this writer:

45 Unofficial Presidential Inauguration Balls so far

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

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Jennings David L

at 22:13 on December 4th, 2008

The crowds will be incredible on Jan 20. Quite the historic event. The big screens will be needed throughout the mall.

A. Tran

at 22:26 on December 4th, 2008

It will be a historic inauguration along with the public access to the Mall.

Thanks for the recommendation.

lefty_liberated

at 23:20 on December 4th, 2008

It's fucking beautiful. Civil rights have come full circle.

Update: where's the attribution of sources in the article?

Rhonda J Mangus

at 04:57 on December 5th, 2008

lefty_liberated, please refrain from profanity. If you have any questions, please visit NP Code of Conduct. Thanks!

Rhonda J Mangus

at 05:00 on December 5th, 2008

Pythiian1, thank you for this story. NP likes its members to use the highlight tool and site sources. Thanks!

A. Tran

at 07:43 on December 5th, 2008

Thanks Rhonda for your reminder, the hyperlink has just been included. Sorry for the oversight, school year ending is a bit distracting.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 14:21 on December 5th, 2008

You are very welcome, Pythiian1.

Amy Judd

at 10:09 on December 5th, 2008

Good piece

A. Tran

at 16:58 on December 13th, 2008

Thank you Amy. I'm sorry for not having posted my thanks on the board as well.

Karenke4

at 11:18 on December 5th, 2008

I wish I could be there! It will be a historic day.

Dadi4 (not verified)

at 13:07 on December 9th, 2008

I'm so grateful that it has been decided to open up the Mall to the public on Inauguration Day! I live in Maryland, and my children, my husband, and I are definately going to be going to the Mall to see President Obama being sworn in!!! It's going to be an amazing day

A. Tran

at 19:45 on December 10th, 2008

It will be an amazing week with all the events around Washington DC leading up to the Inauguration. You and your family will have a fantastic day.

SFC L J Harvey - 100% Disabled Veteran (not verified)

at 09:08 on January 3rd, 2009

and just how are the disabled veterans selected/chosen to attend this event

by photogenic quality, by gender, by degree of disability?

Im a female soldier who served 2 consecutive tours in the "sandbox" and had to fight just to get my social security and VA housing approved. I haven't been able to find a place to "enter the drawing for tickets" for the Commander-in-Chief's Ball

It used to be open to all who showed up. Doesn't sound very non-discriminatory to me.

Mike A. (not verified)

at 22:06 on January 4th, 2009

Tickets are distributed to military personnel, especially veterans like yourself. Did you contact the Pentagon and the change.gov website?

A. Tran

at 14:40 on January 14th, 2009

Just so you know, SFC LJ Harvey, the tickets are free for active and those injured in military actions. You might try contacting the PIC2009.org and the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC) for your free ticket.

I am truly sorry for your injuries and thank you for your service.

Michael A (not verified)

at 07:12 on January 12th, 2009

Very imformative

A. Tran

at 18:50 on January 13th, 2009

Thank you for reading and commenting, Michael A. Hopefully, you'll follow up on other articles about the inauguration for other activities lineup for the public.