New York City served as the United States capital from 1789 to 1790, the first capital under the Constitution.
Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington took the presidential oath of office on April 30, 1789. The city had already been the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 until 1788.
The Residence Act of 1790 selected a permanent capital on the Potomac River, but Philadelphia served as the temporary capital while Washington, D.C., was being planned and built. The federal government moved from New York City to Philadelphia in December 1790.
A common mix-up is to call Philadelphia the first capital under the Constitution. Philadelphia was an important earlier meeting place for the Continental Congress and later became the temporary national capital, but New York City held the first constitutional capital distinction. Federal Hall was later demolished, although the Federal Hall National Memorial now marks the site.