Carter’s inauguration in 1977 was the last time a president was sworn in on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol. On 20 January 1981, Ronald Reagan was the first president to be inaugurated on the West Front. This change not only allowed more room for the public to view the ceremony, but also allowed Reagan to address the country, symbolically facing west, from Washington D.C. Every president since then, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush and now Barack H. Obama, has been inaugurated on the West Front of the Capitol.