When the results of the 2010 Census are released, in all likelihood DC's population will be above 600,000. That will make us the the 24th or maybe 25th largest city in the U.S. But more importantly, it will be the first time in nearly two decades that we've been counted above that 600K number. We've been on an upward trend for years (adding 35,000 since 1998), but some of the increase will be due to a changing Presidential administration. How big will the "Obama-effect" be? Hard to know.
But we do know that his inauguration was largest ever. An estimated 1.8 million people spread out across the lower mall, all the way to the Lincoln memorial, jamming the streets of downtown DC, the Metro tunnels and even the 395 tunnel.
My favorite part of the inauguration was the anticipation. Crown estimates rose all the way to 5 million. One newspaper thought the traffic jam would extend over 100 miles to Richmond VA. And in the oddest trend of last year, all these fools attempted to lease out their run down apartments and houses for tens of thousands of dollars. Some did, the vast majority did not. I got endless hours of laughs tolling through all of your craigslist postings. $50,000 for one week in a one bedroom on P Street, $10,000 for 5 days in a run down house in Annandale, $500 for some floor space for two nights in Mount Pleasant. Comic relief for the rest of us. Wasted time for the posters.
Metro stepped up to the plate and hit a home run, bars an restaurants reaped some benefits, terrorism fears faded away, and DC became the place to be, at least for a few months. And it all started with the inauguration. That's why it is the number one story on The 42 Bus this year.
Inauguration Bears Down
