While Museum staff prepared for the Inaugural exhibit, currently on display at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Visitors Center & Store, we learned a few interesting facts about one of the most memorable parts of Inauguration Day: the parade down DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue.
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| 1944 Inaugural parade (President Franklin D. Roosevelt)
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What do you know about this festive tradition?
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| 1957 Inaugural parade (President Dwight D. Eisenhower) |
Did you know … ?
- The first Inaugural parade to take place in the new capital city of Washington was during Thomas Jefferson’s first Inauguration in 1801.
- President Woodrow Wilson’s second Inaugural parade (1917) was the first to include women.
- Today, law enforcement personnel stand shoulder to shoulder along the parade route, when they used to stand at least 20 feet apart from one another.
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| 2009 Inaugural parade (President Barack Obama) |
- Both military personnel and law enforcement officials line the Inaugural parade route for protection.
- During the parade, military personnel face the president while law enforcement faces the people.