Thousands gathered around the Bay Area to watch and celebrate the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama.
In San Francisco, Civic Center Plaza was filled with thousands of Bay Area residents.
The orderly crowd included plenty of folding chairs, strollers and vendors hawking T-shirts and buttons.
Some attendees dressed for work, but other wore beads, flags and festive hats usually seen on New Year's Eve or Fourth of July.
Tony Imperial, director of NextArts, the cultural organization that sponsored the event, said this is the only outdoor simulcast in San Francisco, and estimated that up to 8,000 people showed up.
NextArts staffers battled with the screen, which suffered a few minor technical difficulties.
Like many attendees, Aurora Wood, 32, said she wishes she could be in Washington, D.C., "but this is the next best thing."
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/See-How-the-Bay-Area-Celebrated-New-President.html
nextarts, nextarts.org, san francisco, tony imperial
