AFP - Edward Kennedy's body lay in state at his beloved hometown of Boston for the second day Friday, as the crowds poured in to bid a final farewell to the legendary senator.
  
The flag-draped coffin remained open for public viewing until 2:00 am (0600 GMT) after thousands of people lined up for hours outside the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, which the man locals knew simply as "Teddy" had built to honor his slain brother.
  
Some 25,000 people from around the world came to pay their respects to the liberal "lion of the Senate" on the first of two days of wake Thursday, Kennedy's office said.
  
Young and old, black and white made up the diverse throng, all of them waiting patiently.
  
As night fell, Kennedy's widow, Vicki, was among family members who stood by the coffin and shook the hands of the myriad of people who came to honor the lion that roars no more.
  
"We just wanted to pay our respects and say thanks for all he has done," one mourner, Trisha McLaughlin, 40, said as she pushed her 80-year-old mother forward in a wheelchair.
  
Kennedy, who was to be eulogized by President Barack Obama before being buried Saturday, began his final journey Thursday at the storied family's compound in the Cape Cod resort of Hyannis Port.
  
Cheers erupted from well-wishers as the motorcade escorting the hearse carrying Kennedy's coffin arrived in Boston. Office workers leaned out of windows and some watched from rooftops.
  
At City Hall, a huge US flag was unfurled and Mayor Thomas Menino rang a bell 47 times, marking each of the years that the Democratic Party giant, who died late Tuesday aged 77, served in the Senate.
  
Winding through Boston, the capital of the Kennedy clan's political fiefdom, the motorcade finally halted at the JFK library, where the closed coffin was placed before an enormous window overlooking the city harbor.
  
A military honor guard of five servicemen stood to attention, bayonets fixed, as mourners filed past and expressed condolences to the family.
  
Following public viewing Friday, a private memorial service will be held at the library, where family, friends and politicians were to celebrate a life marked by extraordinary personal tragedy, shocking scandals and political triumphs.
  
This "Celebration of Life," his office said, "will honor Senator Kennedy and his love of family and friends, his passion for life and his commitment to public service."
  
On Saturday, a funeral Mass will take place at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston -- which all five living current and former living US presidents except George H.W. Bush were expected to attend -- before Kennedy's remains are flown to Washington.
  
His motorcade will stop briefly for a prayer at the Senate steps and later proceed to Arlington National Cemetery, just outside the capital, for a private family burial alongside his assassinated brothers.
  
The brother of slain president John F. Kennedy and presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy was seen as the last leader of his political clan.
  
"Not everybody agreed with the Kennedys' politics, but I think everyone appreciated their service and their spirit," said 74-year-old Nadine Basta, a Kennedy neighbor in Hyannis Port.
  
Gary McHenry, a visiting 49-year-old dairy farmer from Northern Ireland, praised Kennedy's "pivotal role" in helping broker the peace process in Northern Ireland.
  
His death also brought together politicians from across the US political spectrum as Republican rivals and Democrats alike paid tribute to Kennedy's relentless campaigning for the causes of peace and social welfare.
  
Many thought Kennedy destined for the highest office, but his White House hopes were dashed after his name was tainted by scandal, drinking problems and a messy divorce.
  
None perhaps had more impact than a 1969 car accident during which he drove off a bridge at Chappaquiddick in Massachusetts, killing a female companion -- Mary Jo Kopechne -- before fleeing the scene of the accident.
  
The scandal crippled his presidential hopes. And he came to lose the Democratic Party nomination to incumbent Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election.