George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president at Federal Hall in New York City in 1789. The ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, on Wall Street.
Federal Hall served as the first United States Capitol under the Constitution. The First Congress met there, Washington took the presidential oath on its balcony, and the Bill of Rights was introduced in the building.
The original Federal Hall was later demolished, and the present Federal Hall National Memorial was built on the site in the nineteenth century. A statue of Washington stands outside the memorial.
Federal Hall is distinct from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution was drafted. New York City served as the national capital from 1785 to 1790 before the capital moved to Philadelphia.