Where was George Washington inaugurated as the first U.S. president in 1789?

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

The ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, nearly two months after the first presidential term had officially begun. New York City was then the national capital, and Federal Hall stood on Wall Street at the center of the new federal government’s operations.

Chancellor Robert Livingston of New York administered the presidential oath from the building’s second-floor balcony. John Adams had already become vice president and presided over the Senate. A large public crowd gathered outside to witness the ceremony, which established important precedents for the presidency.

Federal Hall was later demolished, and the present Federal Hall National Memorial occupies the site. Washington’s first inauguration should not be confused with the 1790 move of the national capital to Philadelphia or the later move to Washington, D.C. The White House was not yet the presidential residence in 1789.