(The Washington Post) – Marion Barry arrived in Washington in 1965 as a young civil rights activist with no profile but eager to make a difference. His departure, nearly 50 years later, begins Thursday in a manner befitting a civic icon who left an indelible mark on the city he adopted.
The casket of the four-term D.C. mayor, who died Nov. 23 at 78, will be taken to the John A. Wilson Building in the morning for a brief ceremony, after which Barry’s remains will lie in repose through the night.
The casket is expected to be visited at 8:30 a.m. Thursday by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and D.C. Council members past and present. The public is invited to pay its respects there from 9 a.m. till midnight Thursday, as well as from 6 to 9 a.m. Friday
Barry’s farewell could cause some disruption to the morning commute, with the city announcing intermittent street closures expected in front of the Wilson Building, in the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, as the casket and family members arrive.