Jimmy Carter, the Southern Democrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner who outlived every other former president in U.S. history, will be honored through Thursday.
The memorials for the 39th president began at the farm where he grew up in Plains, Georgia, and continued at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. Carter’s remains will be flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday and taken in a procession from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol for two days, followed by a public funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday. Afterward, his body will be brought to Plains for a private service at a church, where he taught Sunday school, and burial.
Here’s what to know about the events in Washington.
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When will the public be able to see Jimmy Carter lie in state at the U.S. Capitol?
The public can pay their respects from 7 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, and from 7 a.m. on Wednesday until 7 a.m. on Thursday.
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What are you allowed to bring?
The U.S. Capitol bans liquids (empty clear drink bottles are allowed), food and any nonprescription spray. All weapons, including firearms, ammunition, knives, mace, pepper spray and stun guns, are prohibited inside the U.S. Capitol, as are pointed objects such as knitting needles and razors.
Bags must be no larger than 18 inches wide, 14 inches tall and 8.5 inches deep.
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How long should I expect to wait in line?
Be prepared to wait for hours. Thousands of people lined up to see George H.W. Bush lying in state at the Capitol in 2018 and Rep. John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.
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What are the closest Metro stops?
The closest Metro stop to the U.S. Capitol is Capitol South, on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines. Union Station, which can be reached on the Metro’s Red Line as well as by Amtrak or Maryland and Virginia commuter trains, is about half a mile away.
The Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station will be closed from Monday at 5 p.m. to Wednesday at 5 a.m.; trains will bypass the station.
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Will there be road closures in the area?
Yes. From Monday evening through Wednesday morning, roads on and around the U.S. Navy Memorial, the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol will be closed for the funeral procession, which will go down Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue. The closures will go north to E Street and south to Independence Avenue, and from 14th Street NW to Second Street NE.
From early Thursday morning until 3 p.m., most roads in a two-block radius of Washington National Cathedral will be closed to nonlocal traffic. Massachusetts Avenue will not be affected, but traffic on Wisconsin Avenue will have to divert around the cathedral. Calvert Street from 28th Street to Shoreham Drive NW, above the Omni Shoreham Hotel, will be closed at the same time.
A full list of the street closures can be found here.
Buses will detour around those closures, and parking will not be allowed on the closed streets.
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Can members of the public attend the funeral at Washington National Cathedral?
No, the service is not open to the public. But it will be live-streamed on the cathedral’s YouTube channel.
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Is Thursday a federal holiday? What is closed because of Carter’s death?
President Joe Biden has declared Thursday a national day of mourning for Carter. All federal offices will be closed that day. However, any executive branch office or agency may call in staff members for “national security, defense, or other public need.”
Post offices will be closed, and most mail will not be delivered.
The day of mourning does not affect Smithsonian museums or the National Zoo, which remain open on most federal holidays. But the U.S. Botanic Garden will be closed Monday and Tuesday, and the Museum of Natural History will be closed Tuesday because of road closures related to the memorial events. The National Archives – which is hosting a special exhibit on Carter – will be closed to the public on both Tuesday and Thursday. The National Gallery of Art will also be closed Tuesday.
(c) 2025, The Washington Post · Rachel Weiner