The first United States President, George Washington, took the oath of office on April 30, 1789. All subsequent public inaugurations from 1797 until 1933 were held on March 4th (in 1933 March 4th fell on a Sunday) and the public inauguration ceremony took place on Monday, March 5th. However, since 1937, the inauguration has taken place at noon eastern time on January 20th, the first day of the new term, except in 1957, 1985, and 2013 when January 20th fell on a Sunday.
For those three years, the presidential oath of office was administered on that day privately, and then again in public the next day on Monday, January 21st. Those inaugurations, each 28 years apart, were all re-inaugurations of the incumbent president to a second and final term. On January 20, 2025, the inauguration of the 47th President, Donald John Trump was conducted indoors due to frigid temperatures in the nation’s capital. The presidential inauguration was last held indoors for Ronald Reagan’s second term in 1985.
With the inauguration moved inside the Capitol Rotunda, over 200,000 who had received tickets to view the outdoor ceremony were no longer able to see the ceremony. The Capital One Arena was open to 20,000 people where the ceremony was viewed, celebrities spoke and performed, and a parade was also held inside the arena. The evening was completed by multiple balls with various celebrity singers and bands performing.
