With millions of people expected to arrive in Washington, DC for the Inauguration of Barack Obama, the main question on everyone's mind has been: where are we going to put all these people?
For housing, many people are turning to subleting for the inauguration, with many DC residents giving up their home in the attempt to meet the demand for places to stay. However, housing is not the only issue that Washington, DC is facing. Washington, DC must also contend with issues of food and transportation, as well. And there is even a proposal to lift the closing time mandates on bars so the visitors can drink through the entire night.
However, one issue that has been resolved is where these visitors are going to watch the inauguration.
The inaugural committee has announced that visitors to Washington, DC will be allowed to congregate on the Mall to watch the inauguration at the Capitol on large TV screens with sophisticated sound systems.
For those unfamiliar with Washington,DC, the "National Mall" (known simply as "the Mall" [map of The Mall]) is a beautiful, open stretch of landscaped national park land that encompasses pretty much the entire area from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, roughly 2 miles long.
This deviates from past inaugurations, as the Mall has historically been blocked off for inaugural parade preparations. The need for the expansion of the viewing area is clear though. While only an estimated 100,000 people watched President Bush's inauguration, many millions are expected to show up for Obama's.
An additional result may be that many who had decided not to come to Washington, DC for the inauguration because they couldn't get their hands on tickets may change their minds. If you are coming to DC for the inauguration and have not yet secured a place to stay, make sure that you find inaugural housing with our Inauguration Housing Search! (And if you have inaugural housing that you would like to rent, you can list inaugural housing on HotPads FREE!)
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