The First Congress faced a unique challenge, and those congressmen and senators who gathered in New York in the spring of 1789 were awed by what lay ahead of them. Not only would members of the Congress have to pass some promised amendments to the new Constitution, but they would have to fill out the bare framework of a government that the Philadelphia Convention had created, including the organization of the executive and judicial departments. Some therefore saw the First Congress as something in the nature of a second constitutional convention.
Smith, Robert
Philadelphia, PA — Completed in 1770, this Georgian building was the meeting place of the First Continental Congress in 1774.
Philadelphia, PA — Founded in 1695, this was the first Anglican Church in Philadelphia; the current wonderfully-preserved structure was built 1727 - 44. Washington, Franklin, Adams, and many other Revolutionary War leaders worshipped here, and many are buried in the nearby Burial Ground.
Princeton, NJ — Completed in 1756, it housed the entire “College of New Jersey” for nearly 50 years. During the war, both British and Continental troops quartered there.
Philadelphia, PA — Completed in 1761, this Episcopal church is relatively unchanged, with a wonderfully ornate organ, original box-pews, and an historic cemetery that includes the grave of painter Charles Willson Peale.
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)