Congress Hall in Philadelphia served as the seat of the United States Congress from 1790 to 1800, when Philadelphia was the nation’s temporary capital before the move to Washington. Originally built as the Philadelphia County Courthouse and designed by Samuel Lewis, it was adapted so the House met on the first floor and the Senate on the second. During its years as the capitol, Congress admitted Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, ratified the Bill of Rights and the Jay Treaty, created major national institutions, and witnessed the inaugurations of George Washington and John Adams. Later restored, it survives as an important setting of the federal government’s first decade.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · USA