The new Congress under the U.S. Constitution first met in New York City Hall, located on Wall Street, in what is today the Financial District. Originally built in 1703, the three-story structure had been the meeting place of the Confederation Congress operating under the Articles of Confederation. The New York City Council and Mayor James Duane, in hopes of making the city the nation’s permanent capital, hired French architect Pierre L’Enfant to remodel the building and in 1789 renamed it Federal Hall. Most observers admired the remodeled structure, an early example of a new federal architectural style.
Because the building was demolished in 1812, we must rely on sketchy contemporary accounts for a sense of how space was assigned. We know that the 65-member House of Representatives met in the larger ground floor Chamber, while the 26-member Senate convened in smaller second-floor quarters, making it literally the "upper house."
The Senate Chamber occupied a richly carpeted space, 40 feet long and 30 feet wide. The Chamber's most striking features were its high arched ceiling, tall windows curtained in crimson damask, fireplace mantels of handsomely polished marble, and a presiding officer's chair elevated three feet from the floor and placed under a crimson canopy. The ceiling was adorned with a sun surrounded by 13 stars.
The Chamber's elegance may have prompted the planners of George Washington's first inauguration to select it for his swearing-in ceremony. Washington took his oath on the Chamber's outdoor balcony, with Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis holding the Bible, and then returned inside to deliver a brief address to assembled members of Congress.
Congress only met in Federal Hall for the first two sessions of the First Federal Congress before embarking for Philadelphia to meet for the third session in December 1790.
