New York City served as the first U.S. national capital under the Constitution, before the capital moved to Washington, D.C.
The new federal government began operating in New York City in 1789. Congress met in Federal Hall on Wall Street, where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president on April 30 of that year. The city remained the national capital until 1790.
The Residence Act of 1790 established a permanent capital district on the Potomac River and temporarily moved the government to Philadelphia. Washington, D.C., became the federal capital in 1800. Philadelphia had served as the meeting place of the Continental Congress and the Confederation Congress at different times, which can cause confusion about the “first” capital.
Federal Hall was later demolished, but the Federal Hall National Memorial now marks the site. The building is particularly associated with the first presidential inauguration and the early operation of the constitutional government.