Inauguration Crowd Stretches Across Entire Mall

The view just after 9 a.m. from the Capitol — from about 75 feet directly in front of where President-elect Obama will be sworn-in — was a sea of people on the Mall that appears to reach the Lincoln Memorial.

The temperature was 22 degrees at around 9 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The crowd had already surpassed 500,000 people by 10 a.m., according to D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, who spoke to The Washington Post. Officials expect between 1 million and 2 million people to watch the inauguration in person.

The crowd for Sunday’s inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial stretched halfway down the Mall to the Washington Monument but not to the Capitol.

–Sam Youngman