WASHINGTON -- The new District of Columbia’s 2013 Presidential Inauguration website promises all kinds of useful information for the 500,000 to 800,000 people expected in the nation's capital for President Obama's second inauguration set for Jan. 21 -- that's less than half the number who attended the 2009 inauguration.
On the site: Tips for getting around, a map of the National Mall and a list of prohibited items (among them: real and simulated firearms, thermoses, pets and booze).
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Presidents On Inauguration Day
There's a link to a useful map of D.C. traffic cameras and links to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies' website, which is the place to go for information about getting tickets and for information about the various Bibles used at previous Presidential swearings-in. (Did you know that in 1789, George Washington was sworn in using a Masonic Bible randomly opened to Genesis 49:13? He wore, according to the Senate Inauguration page, a "Dark brown suit (made in America), with steel-hilted sword, white silk stockings, and silver shoe buckles.")
Some sections of the D.C. government website are empty as of Thursday afternoon, like the page concerning city closures and the page about volunteering.
And look as we might, we couldn't find any information about avoiding 2009's Inauguration nightmare, the dreaded Purple Tunnel of Doom. WRC-TV/NBC4's Tom Sherwood, however, recently offered some thoughts on that topic:
We’re just hoping that there won’t be a repeat of the “Purple Tunnel of Doom.” That’s when hundreds of people with priority “purple” tickets got stuck walking in the 3rd Street tunnel under the Capitol grounds and couldn’t make their way to the seating. So never mind the “fiscal cliff” everyone is talking about. Just don’t accept any purple inaugural tickets. It might be worse.
How much worse? See for yourself:
