On September 18, 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. A Virginia newspaper, the Alexandria Gazette, recorded how Washington crossed the Potomac and was met by two brass bands, a volunteer artillery company, and a delegation of Masons in full regalia. They accompanied him in the first parade held in Washington, DC—a grand procession from the construction site of the White House to the construction site for the U.S. Capitol. *

* Excerpt as it first appeared on www.senate.gov