Where did George Washington take the oath as the first U.S. president in 1789?

George Washington took the oath as the first U.S. president at Federal Hall in New York City.

His first inauguration took place on April 30, 1789, nearly two months after his presidential term officially began. Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of New York, administered the oath on the building’s second-floor balcony. John Adams had already become vice president and presided over the Senate.

Federal Hall stood on Wall Street in New York City and served as the meeting place of the First United States Congress. New York was the nation’s temporary capital at the time. Washington then delivered his inaugural address to Congress and attended a service at St. Paul’s Chapel.

The White House did not yet exist, and Washington’s inauguration was not held in Washington, D.C. The federal capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and later to the District of Columbia. The ceremony established several traditions associated with presidential inaugurations.