Inauguration Day Is Here For The NPS

Inauguration Day has arrived and National Park Service operations and activities in support of the event are in full swing, involving hundreds of NPS personnel from National Capital Region, the U.S. Park Police and the Central Incident Management Team.

Daily planning meetings were held for the several weeks leading up to the inauguration, with the regional and/or deputy regional director attending nearly all of them. Due to the complexity of the planning process, meetings held by the host of involved agencies often conflicted and required close coordination. Several special use permits were issued for use of the National Mall, Pennsylvania Avenue, and some of the monuments.  Public affairs offices were kept busy answering phones, writing news releases, conducting interviews, and updating the NPS inaugural website.  Contracts were issued and supplies ordered.  Maintenance and interpretive staff kept busy making final preparations.  Now, at last, “The Day” has arrived… 

On Friday, January 16th, a group of 100 school children celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with an assembly at the DOI South Auditorium, followed by a reading of the “I Have A Dream” speech near the location of the original speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

On Friday and Saturday, opening ceremony rehearsals took place on a large stage built over the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) invited an “A-list” of entertainers to perform at the “We Are One: Opening Inaugural Ceremony” on Sunday afternoon, including Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder.  Among those reading historical passages were Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington.  The President-elect attended and after the event greeted acting director Dan Wenk and other NCR officials in attendance.  The event was carried by HBO.  NPS and DOI photos of the event were uploaded on the NPS on website Sunday afternoon (http://home.nps.gov/inau/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm ).

On Monday morning, Senator Salazar greeted staff at Survey Lodge on the National Mall, thanking them for their hard work.  He said that as Secretary of the Interior he would be “fighting for America’s land, water and people.” A tree planting and service project were also held on Monday at Anacostia Park.

Most NPS employees involved with inaugural activities reported in at 3 a.m. today, with shifts beginning at 4 a.m.  Many were housed and fed overnight in the tennis bubble (inflated dome) located near the National Capital Regional Office.  Cots and blankets were provided and several hundred employees started filling the “bubble” Monday evening to avoid traffic congestion along with closed roads and bridges leading into D.C. early this morning. 

An interpretive plan, developed by staff from throughout NCR, was put into place.  A unigrid folder entitled “National Park Service – Where History Happens” was produced with the assistance of Harpers Ferry Center and is available for download from the NPS inauguration website (http://home.nps.gov/inau/ ).  A campaign button was designed for the event logo – a blue circle lined with 44 stars, the NPS arrowhead, date and “Where History Happens.”  National Park Service passport stamps were produced in cooperation with Eastern National for use at all the NCR parks marking the date and event.  These will be available for visitors from January 17th until February 20th. And a WASO produced video podcast of the planning efforts uploaded last week (http://www.nps.gov/inau/photosmultimedia/multimedia.htm ).

President’s Park (the White House) staff produced a Junior Ranger booklet now available on the White House website for download as an educational tool.  WebRanger activities were developed with significant assistance from WASO to provide worldwide access to presidentially themed activities, including the “Question of the Week.”

Interpretive staff are giving programs at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, while others rangers rove the National Mall and offer assistance.  Other rangers will monitor activities along the parade route, part of Pennsylvania Avenue National Historical Site. Rangers throughout the region are giving special programs and presidential-themed exhibits are up in many parks.

NPS is coordinating the staffing of 16 emergency medical tents along the National Mall with 150 individuals assigned on Sunday and 300 today.  A total of five agencies are cooperating by providing equipment and staff.

Staff from both the NCR Communications Office and Washington Office of Communications will be taking photos and uploading them to the NPS website throughout the day.  Keep an eye on the NPS inaugural web site for fresh images of the day’s activities.

While the inauguration is an “historic event of historic proportions,” the National Park Service stands ready to maintain, protect and interpret the “nation’s front yard,” the National Mall, and associated monuments and memorials.  Watch for the flat hat and arrowhead to be in the forefront throughout the day here in Washington D.C. – “Where History Happens!”

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