Prior to 1789, the Continental and Confederation Congresses met in borrowed quarters ranging from statehouses to college halls and taverns. After the Constitution's ratification in 1788, Pierre L'Enfant designed New York City's Federal Hall with separate House and Senate chambers to accommodate the First Federal Congress.

Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia Congress met four times at the Pennsylvania State House, beginning in 1775. The Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitutional Convention held there. It was later renamed "Independence Hall." Mural by Allyn Cox in the House wing of the U.S. Capitol, photograph courtesy Office of Architect of the Capitol.

Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey During the summer of 1783, Congress met at Nassau Hall at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Princeton had earlier been the site of one of George Washington's Revolutionary War victories. Mural by Allyn Cox in the House wing of the U.S. Capitol, photograph courtesy Office of Architect of the Capitol.

Maryland State House, Annapolis From Princeton, Congress adjourned to Annapolis, Maryland, where it met in the State House. Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army there in 1783. Mural by Allyn Cox in the House wing of the U.S. Capitol, photograph courtesy Office of Architect of the Capitol.

Federal Hall, New York City The Neoclassical marble facade of New York City's Federal Hall, decorated with emblems from the Great Seal of the United States, featured a balcony where Washington, the hero of the American Revolution, was inaugurated in 1789 as the nation's first president. Mural by Allyn Cox in the House wing of the U.S. Capitol, photograph courtesy Office of Architect of the Capitol.