What was the name of the building where the first U.S. Congress met in 1789?

The first U.S. Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City in 1789.

Federal Hall stood on Wall Street at the site of New York's earlier City Hall. Congress convened there under the newly ratified Constitution, beginning the operation of the federal government. The building also hosted George Washington's first presidential inauguration on April 30, 1789.

The original structure had been remodeled by architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant for the new national government. Its exterior included a balcony, where Washington took the presidential oath before the public. The building served as the first seat of the federal government under the Constitution until the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790.

Federal Hall had earlier revolutionary significance as well. The Stamp Act Congress met at the site in 1765, and the Continental Congress used New York City as a meeting place during the Revolutionary era. The original building was demolished in 1812. The present Federal Hall National Memorial, completed in the 19th century, commemorates the location and its constitutional beginnings.