Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-04-12
Traffic Inches AIonq
As Influx Of Visitors
Reaches Peak Here

NvVVbHV0 ! WIN HuVuV
: The public from near and far
paid an impressive tribute yes
terday to the beauty of WASH
ington in the full flower of
spring
Crowds lured outdoors by a
f1awless sky and like
warmth reached the saturation
point at the Capitol, the WASH
ington Monument and around
Hams Point, where double
blossom cherry trees are bloom
ing.
The influx of visitors, which
has been building up all week,
apparently reached a new peak
yesterday. At least $4,000 sight,
Seers managed to crowd into the
Capitol during the day, and
facilities at the Monument were
taxed to capacity.
Traffic Inches Along.
A three-and-four lane traffic
jam developed during the AFTER
noon on the one-way waterfront
drive down the Potomac to
Hams Point and back up the
Washington Channel.
Cars inched along or halted
bumper to bumper while the few
park policemen who could be
spared from traffic duty at the
Cherry Blossom pageant strove
to keep the lines in motion.
Aside from these points of
concentration, however, the es-
timated half a million visitors
who spread out over the whole
Metropolitan Washington had
more elbow room.
The multiple exhibition halls
of the Smithsonian Institution
were thronged with an estimated
25,500 visitors. The Zoo drew
relatively light crowd of 10000,
and Lincoln Memorial between
1900 and $4,000 according to
attendants.
S,10O ThrOng White House.
At the White House, open be-
tween 10 am. and noon, 800
sightseers filed through the
ground-floor rooms. Additional
thousands visited Arlington Ma
tional Cemetery. Mount Vernon
and Jefferson Memorial.
At the same time residents
and visitors alike filled the
downtown shopping section and
overlooked into the community
centers. Virtually every hotel in
town was filled to capacity,
along with rooming houses, mo-
tells in the outlying sections, and
special accommodations made
available in private homes.
A large percentage of yes
terday's visitors were here only
for the day. A similar two-way
movement of thousands of buses
and private cars is expected to-
day, although the weather out
look is less favorable.
Rail Traffic SWelled.
At Union Station, the normal
rail passenger traffic was sWelled
last week by an estimated $780,
900 visitors. Some 40 extra trains
were added, and the volume
reached it's peak Friday night and
Saturday morning.
Airlines serving Washington
added extra flights, mostly from
points within a few hundred
miles. Traffic was Is to 20 per
cent above normal. But the great
majority of visitors came over
the highways. Stubborn traffic
jams developed on Rhode Island
avenue Friday night and again
last night.
Police say that the number of
automobiles from out of town has
shown a marked increase this
spring.
Yesterday almost every avail
able space was filled. in the ga
RACES. the parking lots and along
almost every foot of curb
throughout the mall and the
areas parks.
Capitol ROtunda Packed.
Although Congress was in ad-
journment yesterday, the Capt.
toll was one of the most crowded
places in Washington. The ro-
tunda was packed throughout
the day. AS many as so big sight
seeing buses were parked nearby
at one time.
Neither the elevator nor the
steps could accommodate all the
men. women and children who
wanted to view Washington from
the top of the Monument yes
terday.
A queue formed as soon as the
Monument opened, and length
ened throughout the day. When
the doors were closed at 5 o'clock
yesterday afternoon, at least $50
persons were still in line.