Bookmark. Remember too, that there were many reports from people there that every side street leading into the main entrance street was packed as well. Not sure how you could calculate that, but those numbers should be included.
Good luck. Glad someone is willing to tackle this in a logical fashion. There are probably reliable numbers for the mall when it is full. We were prevented from getting on the mall area, so many people were under the trees lining the mall. I believe the 1.5 million estimate.
The reason many could not get onto the mall all the way back to the monument was because the permit only allowed space for about one third of the mall area. I got this information from the DC police.
I was there for the entire March… it was one of the largest in DC. We had befriended the Capital Police and spoke to them all day.
At 2:30 PM the Capital Police told me directly that they were being told we reached approximately 1.2 million by 1:00PM and that we far exceeded what the city had expected. They would periodically state that DC & the Metro were taken by surprise by such a massive crowd.
In addition, they made comments about how this was one of the best crowds, especially given the numbers, and that they did not mind being out today. The police are probably being constrained by politics, because we are not hearing any of this in the media… also very sad.
BTW: It was also mentioned that after the Inauguration, Obama supporters trashed the mall… after the 9-12 March; we left the Mall perfectly clean… no trash. Obama’s supporters cost us tax dollars from the first day, the 9-12 Marchers saved tax dollars… any surprise.