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Manhattan - AUGUST 20, 2009: George Washington taking the inaugural oath, Federal Hall Wall Street, financial district, New York City. Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of Rights was introduced in the 1st Congress. The building was demolished in 1812. Federal Hall National Memorial on Wall Street was built in 1842 as the New York Customs House, on the site of the old Federal Hall. It is operated by the National Park Service as a museum commemorating the historic events that happened there.