--- title: The History Behind Moving Presidential Inaugurations Indoors description: Donald Trump is not the only president to move his inauguration indoors because of frigid conditions canonical: https://time.com/7207950/donald-trump-inauguration-indoors-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-17T20:41:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-10T23:27:58.101Z article:section: History og:title: The History Behind Moving Presidential Inaugurations Indoors og:description: Donald Trump is not the only president to move his inauguration indoors because of frigid conditions og:url: https://time.com/7207950/donald-trump-inauguration-indoors-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98637614025f92af/6998b286f1b082cf126ef109/trump-inauguration-indoors.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump's Inauguration Ceremony To Move Indoors To Capitol Rotunda og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The History Behind Moving Presidential Inaugurations Indoors twitter:description: Donald Trump is not the only president to move his inauguration indoors because of frigid conditions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98637614025f92af/6998b286f1b082cf126ef109/trump-inauguration-indoors.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The History Behind Moving Presidential Inaugurations Indoors > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 17, 2025 8:41 PM UTC  In preparation for Inauguration Day (Jan. 20), workers assemble a structure in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on January 17, 2025, in Washington, DC. In preparation for Inauguration Day (Jan. 20), workers assemble a structure in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on January 17, 2025, in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jan 17, 2025 8:41 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](https://time.com/7200212/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump/)’s second [inauguration](https://time.com/7207709/trump-inauguration-guest-list-tech-executives-foreign-leaders-celebrities-politicians/) will be an indoor affair, as the temperature Monday in Washington, D.C., is expected to dip under 20 degrees, with a wind chill forecasted to make the weather feel like single digits. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th U.S. President inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and the inaugural parade will be staged in the Capitol One Arena. He is not the only president to move his [inauguration](https://time.com/4628822/every-inauguration-ever/) indoors because of frigid conditions. It is expected to be the [coldest Inauguration Day](https://time.com/7207859/why-inauguration-day-is-on-january-20/) since 1985, when [Ronald Reagan](https://time.com/6047987/peanuts-history-reagan-abortion/) was sworn in for a second term in 7 degree weather. Like Trump’s second inauguration, Reagan’s second swearing-in was held inside the Capitol rotunda, and the inaugural parade—featuring an Alaskan dogsled pulled by 21 huskies—was cancelled. In 1909, William Taft took the oath of office inside the Senate chamber after a blizzard dropped nearly 10 inches of snow on D.C. But the parade was held outdoors, featuring 20,000 marchers. “I always knew it would be a cold day in hell when I became president,” Taft quipped at the time, [according to](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/01/18/newly-found-photos-show-the-blizzard-taft-got-instead-of-his-ideal-inauguration/) the Washington _Post_. Some presidents have held inauguration events outside despite icy, cold temperatures, like President [John F. Kennedy](https://time.com/6338396/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-culture/), who took the oath of office in 22-degree weather. Eight inches of snow had dropped unexpectedly the day prior— “paralyzing” the D.C. area, [according to](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/01/19/kennedy-inauguration-weather-1961/) the Washington _Post. —_and the U.S. Army Engineers worked overtime to clear the snow in time for the ceremony and parade. Trump urged anyone coming to see his inauguration to dress warmly, but also encouraged them to watch the events on television. As he [posted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113844745273237387) Jan. 17 on the social networking site Truth Social, “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7207950/donald-trump-inauguration-indoors-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7207950/donald-trump-inauguration-indoors-history/"},"headline":"The History Behind Moving Presidential Inaugurations Indoors","datePublished":"2025-01-17T20:41:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-10T23:27:58.101Z","description":"Donald Trump is not the only president to move his inauguration indoors because of frigid conditions","url":"https://time.com/7207950/donald-trump-inauguration-indoors-history/","keywords":["politics","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98637614025f92af/6998b286f1b082cf126ef109/trump-inauguration-indoors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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