It was a fitting end to an election year dominated by a global pandemic that forced people apart, nationwide protests that left the country tense and a campaign infused with visceral, personal attacks and a relentless effort to undermine Americans’ confidence in a functioning democratic system. So on election night in D.C., some people walled themselves off because of the coronavirus, while others walled themselves off because of fears of civil unrest. The Washington politeness that had once transcended political bubbles, long on life support, seemed long deceased.

“The mood in D.C. is tense and nervous,” said Sally Quinn, a journalist and fixture in the D.C. society set. “I went to the National Cathedral this afternoon to be alone and contemplate. I walked home to find all of Georgetown boarded up.”

Fearful of that tense atmosphere, roads had been blocked off around Black Lives Matter Plaza, the intersection across the park behind the White House, which got a new name over the summer during the racial justice protests that erupted across the nation.

Those fears carried down the street to the Trump International Hotel, where access was severely restricted to VIP Republican guests and allies of the president. Security guards blocked cars at the driveway and checked people off by name. Inside, those on the list mingled under red, white and blue balloons and crystal chandeliers and nibbled on peanuts and jelly beans.

Even making a reservation at the hotel’s restaurant couldn’t get you in the door. BLT Prime, the steakhouse in the Trump Hotel, canceled all reservations for outsiders on Tuesday, telling guests who weren’t staying at the hotel their table had been closed due to “security concerns.” The $60 strip steaks were off limits.

Throughout the blocks around the Trump Hotel and the White House, some business owners chose to batten down the hatches, boarding up their windows as if a hurricane was about to sweep through.

While no significant violence — or even protesting — broke out across D.C., the election results did not offer the clarity many were hoping for as they awaited results on Tuesday.

“There has been so much anxiety and emotion leading up to Election Day, I know I’ve been feeling that and so many young people have,” said Casey Kahalas, a 22-year-old Biden supporter, who was outside the White House Tuesday afternoon. “I know there’s life after this, but at least right now with the election, I think it’s going to take a long time to recover from this presidency.”

On Fox News, conservative host and Trump ally Tucker Carlson called the boarding up of Manhattan and Washington in anticipation of unrest — whether Trump wins or loses — “distressing.”

“We are in a different place, and what I’m struck by is how readily and passively we’ve accepted it,” Carlson said on air. “This is a courageous country full of courageous and decent people. Why would we put up with the assumption we need to hunker down and protect ourselves from violence on an election day?”

Margaux Delotte-Bennett, a Washington resident, brought her 7-year-old son to watch the scene unfold outside the gates of the White House.

“I was at the Bush protests, and lots of rallies, and I’ve never seen it like this with so many streets cut off and so far away from the White House. It feels like Trump is afraid of something, and it makes me sad that there is that division,” Delotte-Bennett said. “You don’t have to agree with everybody.”

The D.C. party scene was essentially defined by the two soirees at opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue — one at the Trump Hotel, the other at the White House.

At the hotel, a predictably odd mixture of Trumpworld figures mingled and dined on miniature burgers and cups of french fries in paper cups with the presidential seal. Spotted were MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, rapper Lil Pump, who was brought on stage Monday night at a rally in Michigan, and Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign.

At the White House, the president’s election-night party in the residence was limited to Trump family, close friends, advisers and Cabinet members (who had tested negative for the coronavirus). Aides described the mood as “optimistic” as television hosts tapped more and more states red on their screens. The Navy mess was kept open late as staffers gathered in their West Wing offices to watch the returns. On the opposite side of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., a few hundred maskless special guests gathered in the East Room, including former aides like Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Sanders and campaign advisers like Corey Lewandowski.

With the oil paintings of George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt looking on, supporters sipped on wine and reacted out loud as states were plucked off the map for Biden or the president. A woman yelled out “what?” as television commentators suggested Biden might win Georgia.

When Fox News declared Florida for Trump, senior campaign adviser Jason Miller declared on Twitter, “Cheers heard upstairs in the East Room!!!”

Still, the night was young. One White House official said she ordered in pizza and was prepared for a long night.

A campaign official echoed that sentiment when asked about the vibe at the White House. “Steady,” the official said. “I think everyone knows we have a long way to go.”

But the campaign erupted in anger when the president’s most-watched cable news channel, Fox News, declared Arizona for Biden, flipping a state Trump won in 2016. Advisers called on Fox News to retract their call, but the network did not back down and Trump’s favorite channel continued to carry the disappointing news throughout the White House as the night dragged on.

Elsewhere, the hallowed halls of D.C. power brokers lay dormant. Glitzy cocktail parties were no more and thousands of Washingtonians chose to stay home to avoid the messy traffic, restaurant restrictions and health hazards associated with being out and about in crowds on election night. The expensive St. Regis Hotel near the White House was almost empty at happy hour. After all, it is the middle of a pandemic.

But outside the barricades of the White House, frustrations did boil over occasionally. A violent skirmish broke out, and a glass bottle was smashed over a person’s head.

Alysia McMillan, a young woman from Arizona, stood near the signs criticizing Trump that were posted along the fence outside the White House.

“We’re in one of the most heated elections of our lifetime and what better place to be than right here in the middle of it,” she said, before noting that she was seeing people in the crowds for both Biden and Trump, even if it was hard to spot even one person sporting Trump attire.

When asked who she was voting for, McMillan, demurred. “I’m voting for the man who loves America, is putting America first, and will keep America great.”

Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.