AP: Inauguration Crowd Surpasses 1 Million

First Published: January 20, 2009 12:22 PM EST Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Caption Crowds fill the National Mall during Barack Obama’s inauguration as President

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than a million people crowded the National Mall and the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The Associated Press estimate is based on crowd photographs and comparisons with past events.

Crowds crammed into the nation’s capital Tuesday, packing subway cars and filling the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument for the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the nation’s 44th president. Farther away at the Lincoln Memorial, smaller crowds surrounded the Reflecting Pool, watching the festivities on large TV screens.

For weeks, officials urged people to arrive early for the historic inauguration of the nation’s first black president and throngs of revelers heeded that advice, arriving hours before daybreak.

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