George Washington was inaugurated as the first president under the U.S. Constitution at Federal Hall.
The ceremony took place in New York City on April 30, 1789. Washington traveled from Mount Vernon to the temporary national capital, and Chancellor Robert Livingston administered the presidential oath on the building’s balcony overlooking Wall Street. Washington then delivered his inaugural address to Congress.
Federal Hall stood on Wall Street at the site now marked by Federal Hall National Memorial. The building had already played a major role in American history: the Confederation Congress met there, and Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance there in 1787.
Federal Hall is often confused with the United States Capitol because later presidents were inaugurated in Washington, D.C. The permanent capital moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1790 and then to Washington, D.C., in 1800. Washington’s first inauguration therefore occurred before the federal government settled in the present capital.