How the Night Went at Clinton's NYC Gathering

In 2008, after she lost her bid to become the Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton assured female supporters they had still created "18 million cracks" in the "highest, hardest glass ceiling." That reference served as the backdrop for the NYC venue the Clinton camp hoped would host her victory speech, but instead, the Jacob K. Javits Center—described last month by the New York Times as an "unglamorous glass fortress on Manhattan's West Side"—became the site of "hope" that turned into "despair" on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, reports the Guardian. Election night started off with cheers and positive energy, complete with thousands milling about inside and outside the center, including women wearing suits and vendors hawking "Nasty Women" pins.

But as the night wore on and the gap narrowed in battleground states, good vibes were usurped by tension and the overall feeling turned "seriously depressing," the New York Post notes. Small signs of doubt even filtered out from Clinton herself, who shortly before 9pm EST tweeted, "This team has so much to be proud of. Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything." Clinton campaign manager John Podesta eventually showed up in the early morning hours after a loss seemed imminent to say his boss wouldn't be speaking that night, and Clinton finally conceded in a call to Trump sometime around 2:30am, leaving the Javits crowd stunned and, in some cases, in tears. "What just happened," one bystander asked the Guardian, while another noted to the Post: "I honestly feel a piece of my soul died." (Meanwhile, amNewYork has pictures from the evening.)