George Washington took the presidential oath at Federal Hall during his first inauguration in 1789.
The ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, in New York City, then the temporary capital of the United States. Washington stood on the building’s second-floor balcony before a large public crowd while Robert R. Livingston, New York’s chancellor, administered the oath.
Federal Hall was located on Wall Street and served as the meeting place of the first United States Congress. The building was later demolished, but a Federal Hall National Memorial now marks the historic site.
Washington’s inauguration followed the first presidential election under the Constitution. John Adams had already become vice president and presided over the Senate. The permanent national capital later moved to Philadelphia and eventually to Washington, D.C.