Full panoramic, high resolution view, here.
iOWNTHEWORLD’s Mr Pinko obtained this photo from Freedomworks photographer, Michael A. Beck, who was offered a rare opportunity to photograph the massive gathering of patriots on 9/12.
This is a RARE photo of the 9/12 Rally taken in extreme High Resolution from atop the Capitol Building. Mr. Beck was personally escorted to this rare vantage point by a congressman who will remain anonymous. This panoramic view offers the viewer documentation of the epic scale of this peaceful demonstration of democracy in action.
Hat tip: Darleen, Protein Wisdom.
Nice Deb 
The trouble with the nutroots is that they would believe the lying Media of Mass Deception rather than their own eyes!! It’s truly pathetic!
You could show them thousands of photos that prove that the crowd was more likely 18 times larger than the Lamestream media estimate, but they will still hide their eyes, ears, and minds from the TRUTH!
It is reported that there were thousands of people who couldn’t even get to the National Mall area. What about them? Do they not count?
The latest nutroot charge is to claim “racism” (Jimmy Carter – PLEASE GO AWAY!!!) is the reason for objections to Obama’s egregious policies! As usual – when the nutroots are losing an argument – they fall back on charges of racism! So PATHETIC! LIARS!!!!
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Can we call them “pathetic liars”? I like it!! Until congress bans those words, too.
Funny watching the liberals and MSM squirm… they have no arguments that stand the light of day, so they retreat to racism. It is PATHETIC.
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They certainly don’t call it racism when it is Clarence Thomas.
God bless Michael Steele who told them we are taking the muzzles off and speaking out, oops isn’t he black?
What do we call what they do, if they call what we do racism? I call what they do racist and who they are as bigots.
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I didn’t think there were that many. I was mostly on the Mall and in front of the Capitol, I didn’t realize the crowds went into the side streets like that, they don’t usually go that way.
That’s a lot of people. You can see me over on the right, I’m the guy with the white, Don’t Tread on Me, Culpepper Militia flag.
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A stadium with 100,000 + people. See for yourself.
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What does the panorama actually show? The back of the main body of the crowd is 3rd St. where two blue buses can be seen. This is easily visible in the center of this crowd picture:
Traffic is also visible on this road. From that point back to the white tents near the Washington Monument is lots of empty green grass. The white tents were part of another event and people back there have no connection to the 9/12 demonstration. Similarly, the crowd can be seen ending at 3rd Street on both Maryland Ave and Pennsylvania Ave. The sides of the crowd were in the park areas between those two avenues and Independence Ave and Constitution Ave.
The main body of the crowd occupied park areas within Capitol Circle. Not completely though. Green fences can be seen restraining the crowd above the words “prevail” and “to set brush” in the panorama quote. The walkways towards the capitol were also kept clear and the clear path towards Garfield Circle is visible. Lots of cars can be seen parked on Maryland Ave, between the Capitol and 3rd St. and I presume the same is true for Pennsylvania Ave. Above the trees in front of the Museum for the American Indian, lots of green grass is visible. Above the words “keen to” a large space of pavement near Peace Circle is visible. All of this shows that the crowd did not “fill” this entire area.
According to my calculations from the scale on Google maps, the distance from Independence Ave to Constitution Ave is about 1650 feet and the distance from the curved edge of the pavement at the capitol to 3rd St. is about 1250 feet. Within that area is the reflecting pool which is about 350 x 800 feet.
1650 x 1250 = 2,062,500 square feet less 280,000 square feet for the reflecting pool = 1,782,500 square feet. We also need to take out about 102,400 square feet for the Botanical Garden which leaves 1,680,100 square feet. From that we also need to remove a significant amount of space for trees, statues, hedges, gardens, open paths, fenced off areas etc. Let’s simplify and assume we have 1,600,000 square feet of “demonstrator space”. So I have removed 22,300 square feet less than the area of the Botanical Garden. Given some of the constraints already mentioned I think I am being very generous.
Some people say we should assume 6 square feet per person in the crowd. Bear in mind, that would be a space 3 feet x 2 feet for every person in the crowd.
6 square feet per person gives a crowd of 266,666 people and that would be the very highest end estimate. But, is 6 square feet per person reasonable?
Look at pictures and videos from within the demonstration itself, here:
http://novatownhall.com/2009/09/13/photos-of-9-12-project-tea-party-demonstration-in-washington-dc-september-12-2009/
What do we see? Lots and lots of empty pavement space, and lots of people taking up room with their big signs and flags. People are constantly shown, within the demonstration area, easily moving around. They are nowhere near as packed in as the fans in that stadium picture. At about 3:18 in the second video we see that the police have cordoned off a large pavement area near the Peace Circle that I noted above. I presume it was the same over at Garfield Circle. Once again, we see that assuming the outlined area is packed with people is in error.
What do we get if allow 24 square feet per person? That would mean 4 feet x 6 feet per person which seems pretty reasonable given those crowd pictures.
24 square feet per person gives us 66,666 people. That’s within the estimated range that most media have adopted.
20 square feet per person (4 feet x 5 feet) = 80,000.
16 square feet per person (4 feet x 4 feet) = 100,000.
Oh, and by the way, how much personal space would 1,000,000 demonstraters have had? 1.6 square feet.
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A short video of the crowd between the reflecting pool and 3rd that shows how much space was available.
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So about half a mil, at least? Yeah, I’d say so. Thanks for weighing in, Loa. I can see this topic is important to you.
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Thanks for the reasoned rebuttal nicedeb.
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Lao: I don’t think you can use the video as a measure of the crowd density unless you know what time it was taken. As reported by many, the crowd started assembling at 8 and was pouring in for hours. You can hear somebody talking about coffee in the video, and people look like they’re still getting set up, so it’s likely that this was taken in the morning, before all the protesters arrived.
I don’t really care one way or the other. I think the whole issue demonstrates 2 things: 1) nobody is very good at estimating crowd sizes (which is why there are no official estimates. Even the inauguration estimates have been ranging from 800,000 to 2 million.), and 2) until accurate crowd size estimates are available, nobody should be using them as a political bludgeon (which is why there are no official estimates).
I will say this, though – this may not be the largest protest in history, but it is probably the largest conservative protest in history (though bipartisan, probably 90% of attendees were conservative). Conservatives don’t have anywhere near the experience with, or affinity for, protest as a political tool.
This Alinsky stuff is a pain in the butt. I don’t like it and I want those kids off my lawn right now.
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Actually Geoff, the panorama provided in that short video shows the crowd in place in front of the capitol and gathered all around the reflecting pool. As for the coffee salesman, check out Starbucks some time, they sell the stuff all day long.
Your comment re conservative experience with protest is interesting. Here’s a tip. With a demonstration this size, set up intermediate speakers or video screens so people in the back can hear. Another lesson to be learned is “tell the truth”. Making bogus claims about the attendance at your event (2+ million!!) is the best way to discredit it and you. The hype should have been -“The largest conservative demonstration in U.S. history!”. Live and learn.
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The only person repeating the 2+ million number is you for some reason.
Initially, there were some false reports of that number that were quickly corrected.
Welcome to the blogworld.
I understand that it’s profoundly important to you to try to discredit what was a massive, and hugely successful event, but you’re just spinning your wheels, here.
Unfortunately for you, you only look like a poor-sport, and a douchebag for trying.
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Actually Geoff, the panorama provided in that short video shows the crowd in place in front of the capitol and gathered all around the reflecting pool.
I’m not sure that I follow your point. Are you saying that this video somehow indicates that the crowd was in some sort of static state? Because it certainly does not.
As for the coffee salesman, check out Starbucks some time, they sell the stuff all day long.
Not so much for outdoor venues.
Here’s a tip. With a demonstration this size, set up intermediate speakers or video screens so people in the back can hear.
Thanks, but I’m one of the conservatives who prefers other forms of expression.
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Now, Deb, this is obviously very important to Lao. Someone has obviously told him that the smaller the number they can peg the turnout, the more likely it is that this was an insignificant event where a few fringe kooks with crazy notions like a government accountable to its people and bound by the Constititution came together to display their insane belief in such things.
What it appears no one told him is that a) Conservatives typically have a life, which is one of the reasons we’re so opposed to government meddling in it, and that means we won’t blitz the old media with estimates of crowds, and b) its because of a few ‘fringe kooks’ with insane idea like limited and accountable government that this nation exists today.
Any number above his arbitrary threshold harshes his mellow; that’s why he has to insist that the number was below it. I’m fine with that. Let him stick his head in the sand. Let him worry about numbers. I know the power of the individual, and I know that if it was only 70,000 of the right people, they can set in motion something that the Laos of this country cannot comprehend, and cannot stop.
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Thanks, but I’m one of the conservatives who prefers other forms of expression.
Amen, brother. One of the few things T.R. was 100% correct about. 😉
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Initially, there were some false reports of that number that were quickly corrected.
Yes, within hours.
This is funny – I was looking around a bit at the FreedomWorks site to see how they did their crowd count, and found this old piece (written almost a week ago!):
Didn’t know somebody had already made that point. And eons ago, too.
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I think this video shows a significantly higher crowd density. Note that in the previous video (Lao’s fave), none of the speeches had started, so the crowd hadn’t finished gathering.
None of them are drinking coffee, either.
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Well Geoff, the very start of that video shows people right at the front of the crowd, as is shown by the audio speakers and cameraman. Obviously, that’s the spot you would expect the thickest density.
The majority of the video shows people marching down Pennsylvania Avenue on the way to the site. Even speeded up, those shots show lots of pavement and give a much better sense of crowd density than the rooftop video that is often cited.
I loved the “far as the eye can see” comment from the woman commentator, particularly since wide open, green grass is evident beyond 3rd St. and much more open space is shown on the sides at the front of the crowd than even I had been aware of before.
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My goodness nicedeb, my analysis of a photo you claim shows 500,000 people offends you so, in rebuttal, you call me names.
To follow up on YOUR number, 500,000 people in that space means 3.2 square feet per person. Look at the still picture from the video or any other source you want and you can see the crowd density throughout the demonstration area, is nowhere near that.
I already made the point that the right discredited itself by posting wildly inflated numbers, a process you yourself perpetuate.
I have no quibble with people who point out that crowds are not static. Obviously, people move in and out. I have no quibble with the fact that people on the ground were supported by vast numbers of people who were not there. I have no quibble with claims that this was a very significant political event.
I am not interested in “discrediting” this event, simply keeping attendance claims honest.
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I was being facetious when I said at least 500,000. Thought that might have been obvious. Since no official count was taken of the crowd for the entire day, one can’t say anything 100% confidence.
Except of course that it was well over 60-70,000. Which it was.
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Well, Lao, I had written a rebuttal but I just deleted it, because I’m only arguing as a devil’s advocate anyway. I’m no longer bored enough with real life to bother anymore. And I was always perfectly happy with the 70K number anyway, though you’ve now convinced me that that’s probably on the low side.
I’d suggest you take your calcs over to FreedomWorks, who still maintain that a million people attended. They’d probably be able to entertain you for some time. Me, I just can’t get my war face on over this.
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I am not interested in “discrediting” this event, simply keeping attendance claims honest.
Really? Does that mean that you are also doing this on every other thread on the internet that posted a count? and if not, what makes this one so special that you have to keep trying to convince people who clearly don’t believe you?
If “keeping claims honest” is such a paramount goal for you, are you also focusing in on the President, for whom honesty is clearly a foreign concept, no matter how many “Let me be clear”s he utters? I mean, if you were to really think about it, what matters more? What does more damage to the country? How many people were at the 9/12 rally or how the President can’t sell the lies any longer, but still keeps trying to sell the same crap sandwich while telling us that it is good for us?
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