Where Did George Washington Live During His Presidency?

George Washington is the only U.S. president to never have lived in the White House. Instead, he lived in three different residences during his presidency: the Samuel Osgood House and the Alexander Macomb House, both in New York City, and the President’s House in Philadelphia.

Washington didn’t live at the White House simply because it wasn’t built yet. Still, he was instrumental in selecting the site where the “people’s house” would eventually stand, and he was involved in its design and kept in touch with commissioners overseeing its construction.

When Washington was inaugurated April 30, 1789, New York City was the capital seat of the newly formed United States. In New York, Washington first lived in the three‑story house at 1 Cherry Street (Mount Vernon reports the house number was 3) near the East River. Congress leased the house—also known as the Franklin House after the owner who built it—from Samuel Osgood for $845 annually on top of $8,000 in expenses ahead of the first president’s arrival. Washington only lived there only from April 1789 to February 1790, as it was considered too small for his family and large staff, which included seven enslaved African servants he brought from Mount Vernon. By 1856, the Samuel Osgood House had been demolished.

After leaving the Samuel Osgood House, Washington relocated his family and large staff to the Alexander Macomb House on lower Broadway in New York City. The French Minister to the United States had been recalled to France, leaving the property at 39 Broadway vacant. The four-story brick mansion, which was built between 1786 and 1787, was much larger than the Franklin House and had stunning views of the Hudson River. But Washington didn’t stay here long either. He lived there for about six months from February to August 1790. The Macomb House was demolished in 1940.

In 1790, Washington made his final move as president to Philadelphia after Congress passed the Residence Act that July. The law designated the site on the Potomac River where Washington, D.C., would one day stand as the permanent U.S. capital by 1800, with Philadelphia serving as the temporary capital until then.

According to the National Park Service, Founding Father and then-U.S. Senator Robert Morris offered to let President Washington live in his three-story brick mansion just north of Independence Hall. Afterward, it became known as the President’s House.

Washington lived in the President’s House from November 1790 until his term ended in March 1797 with a large team of about 30 people, including his personal staff, servants and nine enslaved people. President John Adams then moved in until he relocated to the still-unfinished White House in 1800.

The President’s House was demolished in 1832, but centuries later, archaeologists unearthed the original foundation and some artifacts. The park service maintains an outdoor exhibit, “The President’s House: From Enslavement to Emancipation,” where the executive mansion once stood. Visitors can see the foundation.