First US Congress Session in Washington D.C.

Background. Before the capital moved, Congress and its predecessors had met at Independence Hall and Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Federal Hall in New York City, and several other locations including York and Lancaster in Pennsylvania, the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Nassau Hall in Princeton, and Trenton, New Jersey. Philadelphia had been designated a temporary capital for ten years, until December 1800, while Washington, D.C., was prepared.

The Capitol in 1800. The Capitol stands on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and serves as the seat of the United States Congress. Central sections of the building were completed in 1800, and the Senate (north) wing was finished that year. Although the Senate wing was still incomplete, the building was ready enough to receive Congress.

The First Session. Congress convened in the Capitol on November 17, 1800, with both chambers in session. This move transferred the national capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. The building's use for government was soon accompanied by other functions; beginning in the fall of 1800, the Capitol also hosted Sunday religious services for several decades.

Aftermath. The House did not remain long in its original quarters. In 1801 it moved to temporary quarters in the south wing, a space called the "Oven," which it vacated in 1804 before returning to the north wing for three years. The wings were later extended as more states joined the union, with the House housed in the south wing and the Senate in the north wing.