60 Fun Facts About Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital and county seat of which county?

Since the 1970 Unigov consolidation the city and county are nearly coterminous.

In what year was Indianapolis established as a planned city for Indiana's state government?

The state government did not actually move there from the old capital until 1825.

Who platted the original mile-square city with Elias Pym Fordham?

Ralston had helped survey Washington, D.C., which explains the radial avenues.

Where was Indiana's state capital before it moved to Indianapolis in 1825?

The old capitol in Corydon still stands as a state historic site.

What is the city's official slogan?

It reflects the city's role as a rail and highway hub.

Indianapolis sits along the west fork of which waterway?

The west fork flows 31 miles north to south through the city.

The 'Circle City' nickname comes from what feature of the original 1821 plan?

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument now stands in the middle of it.

What is the name of the 1970 city-county consolidation?

It added more than 300 square miles and 250,000 people to the city overnight.

The 1853 Indianapolis rail terminal shared by several railroads was the world's first what?

A larger Romanesque station replaced it on the same site in 1888.

The National Road, which reached the town in 1827, was notable as the first what?

It runs through the city as Washington Street.

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on the circle is roughly how tall?

It was the second-tallest monument in the country when finished, only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.

Who designed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, dedicated in 1902?

It was the first US monument dedicated to the common soldier and took thirteen years to build.

Outside Washington, D.C., which city has the largest collection of monuments to veterans and war dead?

The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza alone covers 24 acres and houses the American Legion.

The Indianapolis 500 is billed as the world's largest what?

The Speedway's permanent seating alone holds more than 257,000 people.

Who won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?

He raced without a riding mechanic and instead fitted a rear-view mirror.

What does the Indy 500 winner traditionally drink in victory lane?

It began when Louis Meyer asked for buttermilk after his 1933 win and a dairy executive saw the photo.

How many cars traditionally start the Indianapolis 500?

They line up in eleven rows of three; the field was capped in 1912.

How long is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval?

Drivers cover 200 laps to reach 500 miles.

Which of these drivers has NOT won the Indy 500 four times?

Hélio Castroneves is the fourth member of the four-win club; Andretti won it once, in 1969.

The Borg-Warner Trophy, presented since 1936, is decorated with what?

It stands nearly 5 feet 4 inches and weighs about 153 pounds.

Which team owner bought the Speedway and the IndyCar Series from the Hulman family in 2019?

Tony Hulman had bought it from Eddie Rickenbacker after World War II.

NASCAR's 400-mile race of 1994 was the first non-Indy 500 race at the Speedway since what year?

It drew more than 250,000 spectators, then a NASCAR record.

The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 from which city?

They famously left in Mayflower moving vans in the middle of the night.

Which coach and quarterback led the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI?

Manning was named the game's MVP; it was the franchise's first title in over three decades.

Before Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008, the Colts played in which domed stadium?

It was originally the Hoosier Dome and was demolished to expand the convention center.

The Indiana Pacers began in 1967 in which league?

They won three ABA titles before joining the NBA in the 1976 merger.

The Pacers' name refers to harness racing and what else?

The team has reached the NBA Finals in 2000 and 2025.

Reggie Miller earned what nickname for his clutch shooting against one particular team?

He was drafted 11th overall by Indiana in 1987 and spent his whole career there.

The city's Children's Museum, founded in 1925, holds what world distinction?

It covers 472,900 square feet on five floors and was founded in 1925.

Which pharmaceutical giant, founded in the city in 1876, is its largest private employer?

It was the first company to mass-produce both insulin and the Salk polio vaccine.

The founder of Eli Lilly had served in which capacity before starting the company?

He was a pharmaceutical chemist by training.

Which Indianapolis-born novelist wrote Slaughterhouse-Five?

He put at least one Indianapolis character into each of his novels.

Vonnegut survived the bombing of Dresden by sheltering where?

He had been captured at the Battle of the Bulge.

Madam C. J. Walker moved her hair-care company's headquarters to Indianapolis in what year?

Guinness records her as America's first female self-made millionaire.

Which US president practised law in Indianapolis and is buried at Crown Hill?

He was the 23rd president and grandson of the ninth.

Which notorious 1930s gangster is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery?

He shares the grounds with a president, three vice presidents and poet James Whitcomb Riley.

Crown Hill, at 555 acres, ranks where among US non-governmental cemeteries by size?

It was established in 1863 on Strawberry Hill and holds more than 225,000 graves.

James Whitcomb Riley, whose home is a city landmark, was known by what nickname?

He wrote 'Little Orphant Annie' and 'The Raggedy Man'.

Which late-night host, born in Indianapolis in 1947, hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show?

He surpassed Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night host.

Which of these dishes was invented in Indianapolis?

Wonder Bread and Choc-Ola also came out of the city.

Sugar cream pie, Indiana's unofficial state pie, is also known as what?

It is thought to have come to east-central Indiana with Quaker settlers from North Carolina.

The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich supposedly began at Nick's Kitchen in which Indiana town?

The cutlet is pounded thin and usually dwarfs its bun.

Which Indianapolis steakhouse won a James Beard America's Classics award in 2012?

It is famous for a fiercely horseradish-heavy shrimp cocktail.

In 1880 Indianapolis ranked third in the world in which industry, behind Chicago and Cincinnati?

It was also the second-largest railroad centre in the country.

Which jazz guitarist from Indianapolis popularised the 'Naptown Sound'?

Naptown is one of the city's oldest nicknames.

Indianapolis hosted which international multi-sport event in 1987?

It was part of a deliberate strategy to become the amateur sports capital of America.

The Indianapolis Zoo is located inside which downtown green space?

It houses more than 1,400 animals and awards the biennial Indianapolis Prize for conservation.

The university that owns Hinkle Fieldhouse, founded in 1855, was the third in the US to do what?

Founder Ovid Butler was an abolitionist attorney.

Which Indiana Supreme Court justice is credited with coining the name 'Indianapolis'?

Rejected alternatives included Concord and Delaware; the suffix -polis is Greek for city.

Who was the first mayor of Indianapolis after it became an incorporated city in 1847?

He led a seven-member city council; a new charter in 1853 expanded it to fourteen members.

Which mayor's administration created Unigov, the 1970 city-county consolidation?

The name is a portmanteau of 'unified' and 'government'; Lugar later served six terms in the US Senate.

Which 1962 high-rise was the first in Indianapolis to top the 284-foot Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument?

After the monument's 1902 dedication the city passed its first height limits to protect the view.

Which Triple-A baseball club, founded in 1902, is among the oldest teams in the minor leagues?

They are the affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and have won seven championships.

Robert F. Kennedy's famous 1968 Indianapolis speech responded to whose assassination?

It is regarded as one of the most lauded American speeches of the 20th century.

Which three Fortune 500 companies were headquartered in Indianapolis in 2024?

Corteva is an agrochemical company and Elevance Health is an insurer.

Which refugee group accounted for much of the city's immigrant growth after 2000?

Brookings called the metro a minor-emerging immigrant gateway, with a foreign-born population up 131% since 2000.

The 2,500-seat Murat Theatre sits inside which venue, the city's oldest stagehouse from 1910?

The complex on Mass Ave also holds the Egyptian Room and Corinthian Hall.

Which bestselling YA author set his 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars in his home city of Indianapolis?

The city was also the centre of the Golden Age of Indiana Literature around 1870 to 1920.

Which travel magazine named Indianapolis the 'most underrated food city in the U.S.' in 2016?

The same magazine ranked the restaurant Milktooth among the best in the world.

Approximately how much of the Indianapolis area was once covered by deciduous forest?

Today the urban tree canopy averages about 33%, with rare old-growth surviving on 15 acres of Crown Hill Cemetery.