Which city hosted George Washington’s first presidential inauguration in 1789?

New York City hosted George Washington’s first presidential inauguration on April 30, 1789.

The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall, located on Wall Street in lower Manhattan. Robert Livingston, chancellor of New York, administered the presidential oath while crowds gathered below. John Adams had already assumed his duties as vice president and later joined Washington at the ceremony.

New York City was the national capital at the time. The federal government operated there under the new constitutional system before moving to Philadelphia in 1790 and eventually to Washington, D.C., in 1800. Federal Hall had special symbolic importance because the First Congress met there and Washington had previously served as president of the Constitutional Convention.

The 1789 inauguration did not occur on the modern January 20 schedule. Washington’s first term formally began on March 4, but delays in counting electoral votes and organizing the new government postponed the ceremony until April 30. Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in the nation’s first presidential election.