Where was George Washington's first presidential inauguration held in 1789?

George Washington's first presidential inauguration was held at Federal Hall in New York City.

The ceremony took place on April 30, 1789, nearly two months after the constitutional government was scheduled to begin operating. Federal Hall stood on Wall Street and served as the meeting place of the first United States Congress. New York City was the national capital at the time.

Washington took the oath on the building's second-floor balcony before a large crowd. Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of New York, administered the oath because the new federal judiciary had not yet been organized. Vice President John Adams had already begun his duties in the Senate.

Federal Hall was later demolished, and the present Federal Hall National Memorial occupies the site. Washington did not take the oath at the White House, which had not yet been built. The capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and then to Washington, D.C., in 1800.