George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York. The mural depicts (from left to right) Robert R. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York, administering the oath; Secretary of the Senate Samuel Otis holding the Bible; George Washington, with his hand upraised; and Vice President John Adams.
Left: A woman pleads her case to a magistrate, symbolizing the new government's establishment of a judicial system.
Right: A business transaction represents the beginning of the national banking system.
About the Cox Corridors Murals
The first floor of the U.S. Capitol's House wing is elaborately decorated with wall and ceiling murals by artist Allyn Cox. The central east-west corridor is referred to as the Great Experiment Hall because it chronicles in 16 murals the legislative milestones of three centuries, from the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1629 to the enactment of women's suffrage in 1920.