For the last two days, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta has been open at all hours while former President Jimmy Carter lies in repose. 

In the first 24 hours, more than 10,000 came to say goodbye. And they kept coming — late into the night.

By 10 p.m. Sunday, the daytime crowds had thinned. Big lights illuminated mostly quiet security queues. Otherwise, the grounds turned dark and still. But even at the late hour, a steady stream of mourners crossed the wooded campus to pay their respects.

“Coming at night makes it really quite different than the daytime,” said longtime Carter Center staffer Laura Neuman. “It is very dark where his coffin is and it’s draped with an American flag. But because it’s dark out, it’s just spotlighted.”

Neuman volunteered to work the Saturday night shift into early Sunday. She says many have found the wee hours serene and the experience more intimate. She feels that way too and returned Sunday night.