At what building was George Washington’s first presidential inauguration held?

George Washington’s first presidential inauguration was held at Federal Hall in New York City. The ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, on the building’s second-floor balcony.

Federal Hall stood on Wall Street and served as the meeting place of the first United States Congress. At the time, New York City was the nation’s capital. Washington traveled to the building after arriving at Murray’s Wharf, where crowds gathered to watch the first president assume office under the new Constitution.

Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of New York, administered the presidential oath. Washington then delivered his inaugural address to Congress. The ceremony marked the formal beginning of the executive branch under the constitutional government established in 1787.

Federal Hall was later demolished, and the Federal Hall National Memorial now occupies the site. It is often confused with Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution was drafted and signed. Philadelphia became the national capital in 1790, before Washington, D.C., assumed that role in 1800.