Call to witness inaugural history resounds in Hub

Soon after Beverly Edgehill started planning to attend President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, she realized how challenging the trip would be. The nearest hotel room she could find available for Jan. 20 was 90 minutes outside of Washington. She didn't want to sleep on somebody's sofa.

"I thought, there's probably many people like us who want to be involved with this celebration," said Edgehill, president and CEO of The Partnership Inc., a leadership development and career mentoring organization for professionals of color. Why not host an inaugural celebration of their own?

Now, The Partnership is expecting a crowd of 3,000 - and live simulcasts from Washington - at its own black-tie inaugural ball at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center.

"We're trying to create our own version of a formal celebration where people who were either directly involved or just are very happy and hopeful about this administration can come together and say, 'Gosh, this is really cool,' " said Edgehill. "This really is about creating a moment for the Boston region to celebrate."

Consider the Boston region ready for the party. Inspired by the hopeful message of the president-elect, and a desire to be a witness to history, many Massachusetts residents are determined to be part of Obama's inauguration, whether in Boston or in Washington. Groups are planning inaugural watch parties and celebrations in Greater Boston, activists and campaign volunteers are organizing car pools and bus trips to D.C., and residents are hounding their congressional representatives for a ticket to Obama's swearing-in.

Many are heading to the inauguration without hotel rooms or tickets, simply hoping to catch even a sidelong glance at history as the nation's first black president takes the oath of office.

"People are freaking out," said Liz Morningstar, executive director of the Deval Patrick Committee. "Nobody really knows if they're going to have a ticket or not. . . . People just want to be there and be part of it."

In Washington, officials are preparing for a massive Inauguration Day crowd - estimates range from 1.5 million to 4 million people - that would dwarf the audience of 300,000 who turned out to see President George W. Bush'sinaugurations. (The record was set in 1965, when 1.2 million attended the inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson.)

With unprecedented public interest, Obama's inaugural committee hopes to make this inauguration open and inclusive and is considering hoisting JumboTrons up on the National Mall or altering the parade route to accommodate millions of spectators.

Most hotel rooms in Washington were scooped up months ago. Out-of-towners are so desperate for accommodations that they're trying to rent D.C. residents' apartments and houses. Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty suspended regulations to allow residents to rent out their homes without getting business licenses or property inspections.

Some Massachusetts residents with D.C. roots are hoping to bunk with friends. "I bought my plane ticket the day after the election," said Nancy Goodman, vice president for policy at the Environmental League of Massachusetts. When she asked her congressman, Representative Michael E. Capuano, for a ticket to the swearing-in, he said he already had a waiting list of 1,500 constituents. (Capuano stopped taking names at 7,000 requests.) So Goodman is beseeching people she knows on Beacon Hill for help finding a ticket.

"I'll probably fail miserably," she said. "But at least I'll be part of the throngs."

Tickets to the inauguration are free and inaugural committees are warning that no one should have to pay for them. The tickets won't be physically available until the week before the event, and will be distributed to congressional offices.

But there are only 240,000 tickets available to the swearing-in ceremony, and in Boston political circles, those seats are hotter than Red Sox season tickets, said Larry Carpman, who handles public relations for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

"There's a lot of interest out there," he said. "Part of the buzz for Boston is that it's so reachable - transitwise, bus, train, plane, drive. Again, if you're in Missouri, it's a little harder."

But people apparently plan to flock to the inauguration from far-flung states, too. Each member of the US House of Representatives gets 198 tickets to the inaugural to distribute.

In years past, Massachusetts congressional aides would often get extra tickets from their counterparts in states far from Pennsylvania Boulevard. Not this time.

"There is this unprecedented demand for tickets. It's difficult even to swap," said William Tranghese, spokesman for US Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Springfield.

Neal posted a notice on his website that he is no longer accepting ticket requests. "We got to 198 [requests] about the day after the election," said Tranghese.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is expecting it will be able to accommodate additional activists and campaign volunteers from the Bay State. Last week, the head of the inaugural committee asked the party to develop a list of people who could be invited to additional events and parties in Washington.

Those who won't make the invitation lists are sure to find a celebration closer to Boston.

"There's a lot of excitement and pride around the inauguration," said Joel Barrera, executive director of The Commonwealth Seminar, a group that works to train diverse leaders for advocacy and public service. "I think a lot of people in their heart of hearts would like to go to D.C. But realistically, when they're expecting 1.5 million people."

For those who don't make the trip, Barrera is planning a Boston-area inaugural watch party. He's still deciding on a venue that could accommodate 200 to 300 people.

"It's the sort of thing that I think ought to be seen in a communal setting," said Barrera.

Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com.