TriBeCa Holds Huge Inauguration Ball
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Inauguration night was not all about Washington, D.C., but also about trendy downtown New York. The Tribeca Grand Hotel held a huge inaugural ball on Tuesday.
"Tonight we're all celebrating just basically being a United States of America and I think behind Barack Obama we have that," said host Melissa Ettere.
Tommy Saleh, the creative director of the SoHo and Tribeca Grand, also helped organize the event.
George Whipple: You know, a decade ago, with the downtown glitterari celebrating a presidential inauguration [would seem] kind of un-hip to me."
Selah: It's true, it could be un-hip any other time. I think with Obama being young and with the internet generation, I think he's probably the first president or the only president I can imagine celebrating.
It seems that politics is fashionable again.
"This is a great place to celebrate Obama's inauguration and celebrate downtown, celebrate freedom, everything," said one party-goer.
"Very humbling to be in this country. I'm not originally from this country so I'm very excited," said another party-goer.
"As a French person, here, I don't know, I just feel a part of it, you know, I feel welcome again in this country and that great for that," said a third.
While the main festivities may have been in Washington, D.C., the 44th president does have New York connections. Unlike Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, who dropped out of Columbia Law School, Barack Obama attended and actually graduated from Columbia College.