<P> In 1788, the building was remodeled and enlarged under the direction of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who was later selected by President George Washington to design the capital city on the Potomac River . This was the first example of Federal Style architecture in the United States . </P> <P> The building was renamed Federal Hall when it became the first Capitol of the United States under the Constitution in 1789 . The 1st United States Congress met there on March 4, 1789, to establish the new federal government, and the first thing it did was to count the votes that elected George Washington as the first President of the United States . He was inaugurated on the balcony of the building on April 30, 1789 . </P> <P> Many of the most important legislative actions in the United States occurred with the 1st Congress at Federal Hall . Foremost was the proposal and initial ratification of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution; twelve amendments to the Constitution were initially drafted (ten were later adopted), and on September 25, 1789, the United States Bill of Rights was proposed in Federal Hall, establishing the freedoms claimed by the Stamp Act Congress on the same site 24 years earlier . Also, the Judiciary Act of 1789 was enacted in the building, which set up the United States federal court system that is still in use today . </P> <P> In 1790, the United States capital was moved to Philadelphia, and what had been Federal Hall once again housed the government of New York City until 1812, when the building was razed with the opening of the current New York City Hall . Part of the original railing and balcony floor where Washington was inaugurated are on display in the memorial . The current structure, one of the best surviving examples of classical architecture in New York, was built as the first purpose - built U.S. Custom House for the Port of New York . Designed by John Frazee, it was constructed of Tuckahoe marble and took more than a decade to complete . It opened in 1842 . </P>

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