. >> this is the inauguration nerve center, hargrove headquarters. as big as eight football fields, it is part to the rafters with patriotic bunting, parade float parts, and the largest inaugural seal we have ever seen. since his first inaugural event for president truman, hargrove has cut a famine in everyone -- has had a hand in every one since. hargrove is once again the official contractor, the party planner, building and installing decor for events across the sea, including two official balls and 10 parade floats. >> how can you not be proud doing the inauguration? everybody gets excited and cannot wait to do the job. >> to get the job done, for the last 20 days, more than 300 employees have been working 24- 7, including the lead craftsman. >> it is amazing to see all the different elements. you see them all collected, and all the people, all the lights coming together. >> right now, a lot of the work is top secret. we are only allowed to show you some of its. that is to keep up in the inaugural tradition of surprising the public and the preside

hargrove headquarters.is packed to the rafters with a stage skeletons, parade float parts, the largest inaugural field would have ever seen. >> you're the keeper of the inaugural seal. >> it is in this company's dna. since its first event in 1949 for president truman, hargrove has had a hand in every one's since. in 2013, the company's 70 the inauguration, hargrove is once again the official contractor -- 17th inauguration, hargrove is once again the official contractor. >> how could you not be proud? everyone in the company gets excited about it. >> to get the job done for the last 20 days, more than 300 employees have been working 247, including lead craftsman kenny smith. >> when you see them all the collected all the people and the lights, -- all of them collected and all of the people and the lights, it is amazing. >> every four years, there is something that surprises even as. >> wbal-tv 11 news. >> still ahead, dozens of people involved in a sex trafficking network in virginia. >> the latest on the h

now he's the float boss for hargrove.s, the welders, the carpenters, the sewers, the painters, all working nonstop to bring the wow to the parade. >> when it turns that corner on pennsylvania avenue and there's something you've never seen before, so large, so beautiful, right in front of you on such a special day. >> and you know you've done your job. >> you can tell by the smiles on their faces that we've done our job. >> reporter: okay, it may not be rocket science, but it takes a lot of imagination and hard work to bring that magic on inauguration day. pat collins, news 4. >> a whole new appreciation for those floats. >> it's so cool how the floats honor the backgrounds of the first and second families. a lot to look forward to. also at this time, we want to give a quick shoutout to all of the students at horizon elementary in sterling, virginia. the principal and staff invited me to be the guest pronouncer. i was so nervous. i prepared. i spent two days reading over the binders. these kids, i was so impressed by them.

. >> reporter: the company behind it all, hargrove, incorporated een providing the official parade floats since president truman's inauguration. >> inaugurals aren't the big of the thing our company does anymore but i'll guarantee you it is the most important thing that we do. >> along with the eight official floats, there are 11 others commissioned by groups marching in the parade including that is a look out for full-sized models of the curiosity mars rover and orion, the capsule that will take humans into space farther than ever before. >> we have four, five or six astronauts that will be in the parade along with that. >> and that was lauren demarco reporting. the parade route runs along pennsylvania avenue. the parade is set to begin sometime around 2:40 this afternoon when president obama, the first lady, vice president biden and dr. jill biden depart the capitol and lead the parade. >> there are a few local groups marching in the parade this year. they are the mighty sound of maryland marching band from the university of maryland, the 54th massachusetts volunteer infantry rent men c

hargrove will be the special contractor to create folks for the inaugural parade and staging of the inaugural ball. >>> we also know more about metro's plans. metro will be hope open from 4 a.m. monday the 21st until tuesday. peak fares will be in effect and the archives mt. vernon square and smithsonian stations may close. >>> those who are excited and looking forward to inauguration souvenirs have a new place to shop. the president's inaugural team opened an online souvenir store yesterday. it carries everything from posters to champagne flutes. a brick and mortar store will open a few blocks from the white house next friday. >>> coming up next, howard will be here with the forecast. >> and jc larks cold start to the -- a cold start to the day. some winds will be with us. we're gusting at 25 now in frederick. over 30 in oakland and gaithersburg at 23 miles an hour. your full weekend forecast when emancipation proclamation [ male announcer ] when your business is powered by verizon, you can do more business per second. and with more reliable internet, that's more per second. and with a dedic

into this parade and just to give you a sense of how much preparation, we talked to the folks at hargrovein the washington, d.c., area, they've been building these floats since 1945. harry truman's inaugural in 1949. we were talking about the election, they don't know, the folks at hargrove, the folks building the floats, who will win. they start building these floats, i didn't know this until i came out here today, until after the election is over. they've had 19, 20 days to get the floats together. look at this craftsmanship, i wish i could do this. i don't have the tools capable of doing this, but this is a replica of the tuskegee airplanes they used to fly back in world war ii. a lot of work, a lot of preparation going into all of this and we'll see it take place tomorrow. >> you know, fantastic, jim. there is great craftsmanship there, thank you so much. you will be on the news reporter float tomorrow yourself in the parade. we look forward to seeing you there. >> that's right. >> the carefully crafted float there with jim acosta. there are more than half a million people expected to

we got an inside look at the works of art created for the inaugural parade, the hargrove company in atlanta, maryland has been making floats since 1949. workers have spent thousands of hours on this year's floats that will represent the home days of the obamas and bidens, and key moments in civil rights history. >>> well, organizers hope a different approach will help cut down on the chaos ticket holders experienced in 2009. there would be more volunteers directing visitors to the right areas for the ceremony. a new mobile app. will also help guide people around the congested areas. more cell towers are going up to make sure that everyone has phone service. in fact, 250,000 people are expected to attend the swearing-in alone. >>> president obama will show his support for d.c. voting rights during the inauguration for the first time his limo will have the district's taxation without representation license plates on it. the white house says the president has seen how unfair it is to the families in the district to work hard, pay their taxes without having a vote in congress. that's right. the

. >> reporter: he should know, earl hargrove, jr. has 17 inaugural parades under his belt. building floats commissioned by the inaugural committee. >> clinton's inaugural, he insisted that we get mules from missouri to pull the float. we did. >> reporter: the first and second family's home state still get a nod. so do the tuskegee airmen, civil rights leaders and more. the band enjoyed an early audience because monday the whole country will be watching. in washington, wusa9. >> they sound good. >>> good morning. thank you for watching wusa9 at 5:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. >>> i'm mike hydeck. we are out here with a gorgeous bird's eye view of the inauguration events. the white house is behind us. we're hoping the lights come on soon. it's still dark. but it's absolutely beautiful out here even though it's more than a little cold. >> very different than yesterday afternoon. >> our producer erin got some hot tea us for. howard and monika are holding down the fort at the wusa9 studios with weather and traffic. we'll start with howard. a lot of people plan to be outside for a go

according to hargrove, the company will use 60,000 feet of lumber and 3,000 down here for the inauguration project this year. >>> well, it is official. president obama today nominated his chief of staff to be the next treasury secretary. if confirmed, he was considered a top budget expert, but a tough bargainer and closely involved in those negotiations with conges, congress. now, if we don't have any snow around here because the temperature is 75 degrees. we'll take you through it here. >> that's a long way, yes. how pretty is it when it snows in that city? it is kind of like it's snowing in south georgia. >> are those palm trees? >> yes, sir. those are pretty much palm trees. look at them coming down as that is just beautiful. they had anywhere from one in some spots, four inches. now, that's very nice. look at that. wow. okay. let's take a live look outside. and we're looking down wisconsin avenue towards the southwest. there is the sun about to set. see the clouds have rolled in here. the live michael and son weather cam. we'll show you what happened over the day as we have had a lot o

hargrove incorporated. >> inaugurals aren't the biggest thing our company does any more. most important thing that we do. >> along with the 8 official floats, there are 11 others commissioned by groups marching in the parade including nasa. full size models of the curiosity mars rover. >> the astronauts are going to be riding in that going on the next mission. we have 4 or 5 or 6 astronauts in the parade along with that. >> reporter: some of the exciting moments in the parade being those floats. they hope it resonates with the kids. it is visual. a lot of folks talking about that teaching children about patriotism and the importance of this day. that's the latest here. allison and tony back over to you. >> all right, lauren, thank you so much. >> much more ahead coming up in just a few moments. it is right now coming up on 8:50. coming up next, witnesses to history. good morning, dave. >> yes, share your experience with us. see what you are seeing wherever you may be on myfoxdc.com. we'll have to tell you how to upload the videos and the photos as the inauguration coverag