While millions of people crowd into the National Mall on Monday and Tuesday for the inauguration of Barack Obama, buildings around the area will be eerily empty, all in the name of security.

My brother Scott works at a national magazine just blocks from the White House. He said the Secret Service asked employees at office buildings within the area to leave starting Monday afternoon - about as this post is being written.

It could be all for the better for D.C. workers, who will have to contend with even busier streets and overflowing Metrorail trains. I can tell you from visits to the capital that the Metro gets packed in during rush hour, which should spread to the entire day on Tuesday. WMATA, the transit authority, is extending rush hour service to pretty much the entire day Tuesday.