Where did the First United States Congress hold its first sessions in 1789?

The First United States Congress held its first sessions in New York City in 1789.

Congress met at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan beginning on March 4, 1789. This marked the start of the federal government’s operations under the Constitution, although the House and Senate did not immediately achieve a quorum on that date.

Federal Hall was also the site of George Washington’s inauguration as the first president on April 30, 1789. The building stood on Wall Street, near the location of the present Federal Hall National Memorial.

The first Congress later moved to Congress Hall in Philadelphia. The federal capital eventually moved to Washington, D.C., but that city did not host the First Congress’s opening sessions. New York City therefore served as the temporary seat of the new national government at the beginning of the constitutional era.