199 Fun Facts About US Cities

Which US city is nicknamed the Windy City?

It has also been called Second City and City of the Big Shoulders, and it built the world's first steel-skeleton skyscraper in 1885.

Which California city has hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade since 1890?

Pasadena staged its first Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 1890; the Rose Bowl football game followed in 1902 and became annual in 1916.

Which city is known as the Big Easy?

New Orleans is the Big Easy; its other nickname, Crescent City, comes from the bend of the Mississippi the city was built around.

Which city is called the Motor City?

Detroit earned the Motor City name as the home of the Big Three automakers; Ford's Model T was first built there at the Piquette Avenue Plant in 1908.

Seattle's Space Needle was built for what 1962 event?

The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition, which also gave Seattle its monorail.

Which city is the Mile High City, its official elevation exactly one mile above sea level?

Denver is the Mile High City: a marked step on the west side of the Colorado State Capitol sits exactly 5,280 feet above sea level.

What is the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the contiguous United States?

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded it in 1565; only San Juan, Puerto Rico, is older on US soil.

Which Alaskan city is the largest in the US by total area?

Sitka covers about 4,800 square miles including water; as New Archangel it was the capital of Russian America and remained Alaska's capital until 1906.

Which is the largest city by area in the contiguous US, and also Florida's most populous?

Jacksonville merged with Duval County in 1968, giving it about 747 square miles of land, far more than Miami's 36.

Which city opened the nation's first subway, the Tremont Street line, in 1897?

It also claims the first public park (Boston Common, 1634) and first public school (Boston Latin, 1635).

What was New York City called under Dutch rule?

New Amsterdam was the Dutch West India Company's settlement on Manhattan from 1624; the English seized it in 1664 and renamed it New York for the Duke of York.

Which Colorado town is the highest incorporated city in the United States?

Leadville sits at 10,152 feet, the highest incorporated city in the US; it boomed on silver in the late 1870s in the shadow of Mount Elbert, Colorado's tallest peak.

Kansas City is famous for having more than 200 working what?

The ones at Kauffman Stadium are the largest privately funded fountains in the world.

Bristol, a twin city divided by State Street, straddles Virginia and which state?

Bristol's State Street runs along the Virginia–Tennessee line, so each side of the street lies in a different state; the Tennessee half is home to Bristol Motor Speedway.

Las Vegas was founded in which year, when railroad land was auctioned off downtown?

Las Vegas dates its founding to May 15, 1905, when the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad auctioned 110 acres of downtown lots; the city incorporated in 1911.

Which city served as the first US capital in 1775 and remained the nation's largest until 1790?

Philadelphia hosted the Continental Congress from 1775 and was the largest city in the colonies; its firsts include the nation's first hospital (1751) and first stock exchange (1790).

Which is the most populous state capital in the United States?

Phoenix, with more than 1.6 million residents in the 2020 census, is by far the most populous state capital; no other capital had reached a million.

Which is the only major US city founded by a woman?

Miami incorporated in 1896 after Julia Tuttle, who owned the land, persuaded Henry Flagler to extend his Florida East Coast Railway south to Biscayne Bay.

Pittsburgh's 446 spans over its three rivers give it what nickname?

Pittsburgh's 446 bridges, three more than Venice, earned it the City of Bridges nickname.

Which city is the capital of Oregon?

Salem became Oregon's territorial capital in 1851 and kept the role when Oregon became the 33rd state in 1859.

Which word was dropped from Salt Lake City's original name in 1868?

The settlement was Great Salt Lake City from its 1847 founding until the territorial legislature shortened the name to Salt Lake City in 1868.

Honolulu has been Hawaii's capital since which year, when Kamehameha III moved it from Lahaina?

Kamehameha III moved the royal court from Lahaina to Honolulu in 1845; it remained the capital through the 1893 overthrow and the 1898 US annexation.

Anchorage was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake on Good Friday of which year?

The Good Friday earthquake struck on March 27, 1964, and shook for about four and a half minutes; at magnitude 9.2 it was the most powerful ever recorded in North America.

Minneapolis and which neighbor make up the Twin Cities?

Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital, sits just downstream of Minneapolis on the Mississippi; together they form the Twin Cities.

What name is given to the 44 people who founded Los Angeles in 1781?

The 44 founders, remembered as Los Pobladores, arrived from Sonora and Sinaloa in September 1781 to establish El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles.

Which pair of siblings founded Houston, naming it for the future president of Texas?

They paid $5,000 for the land, only $1,000 of it in cash, and ran their first advertisement four days later.

San Antonio's five Spanish missions, including the Alamo, became UNESCO World Heritage sites in which year?

UNESCO inscribed the San Antonio Missions, the Alamo and four others along the San Antonio River, as a World Heritage Site in July 2015, the first in Texas.

Which three breweries made Milwaukee a national leader in beer production?

Miller, Pabst and Schlitz, all founded in Milwaukee between 1844 and 1855, made it Brew City; Schlitz billed itself as the beer that made Milwaukee famous.

Francis Scott Key wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner' during the bombardment of which Baltimore stronghold?

Fort McHenry withstood a 25-hour British bombardment on September 13–14, 1814; Key's poem about its flag became the national anthem in 1931.

Nashville's Centennial Park contains a full-scale replica of which ancient building?

Nashville's Parthenon, a full-scale replica built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, matches the city's nickname, the Athens of the South.

What was Atlanta's name immediately before it was renamed Atlanta in 1845?

Marthasville, named for Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha, was the town's name until the Georgia legislature renamed it Atlanta in December 1845.

Which Cleveland river caught fire in June 1969, helping launch the environmental movement?

The Cuyahoga River's fire of June 22, 1969, one of about a dozen in its history, helped spur the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the creation of the EPA.

San Francisco's first cable cars ran up which hill road in 1873?

Andrew Hallidie's Clay Street Hill Railroad, the world's first cable car line, began running up Clay Street on August 2, 1873.

Which French-born engineer designed Washington, D.C. in 1791?

Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born engineer who had served in the Continental Army, drew the 1791 plan of diagonal avenues over a grid with the Capitol at its center.

Which Memphis thoroughfare is central to the birth of the Memphis blues?

Beale Street is where W.C. Handy, the Father of the Blues, wrote 'Memphis Blues' in 1912; the street was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Who won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?

Ray Harroun won the inaugural 1911 race in a Marmon Wasp fitted with what is often called the first rear-view mirror, then retired from driving.

Boise, Idaho is home to one of the largest US communities of which European ethnic group?

The Basque Block downtown hosts the Jaialdi festival every five years; the city is nicknamed City of Trees.

Which two state capitals cannot be reached by road from the contiguous United States?

Juneau is hemmed in by mountains and the Juneau Icefield, and Honolulu sits on the island of Oahu, so both capitals can be reached only by sea or air.

Which is both the oldest and, at about 7,200 feet, the highest US state capital?

Santa Fe was founded in 1610 as the capital of Spain's Nuevo México, making it the oldest state capital; at about 7,200 feet it is also the highest.

Buffalo, New York became the western terminus of which waterway, completed in 1825?

The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, ran 363 miles from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson, making Buffalo a major inland port.

Albuquerque hosts the world's largest festival of what?

The International Balloon Fiesta shares the calendar with the Gathering of Nations, North America's largest powwow.

Tucson earned which nickname in 1992 for its telescope and optical-science industry?

Tucson's Optics Valley nickname grew from the University of Arizona's optical sciences program, founded in 1964, and the 1992 launch of the Arizona Optics Industry Association; its older nickname is the Old Pueblo.

The first Kentucky Derby was run in Louisville in which year?

The first Kentucky Derby was run on May 17, 1875 at the new Louisville Jockey Club track, later Churchill Downs; Aristides won before about 10,000 spectators.

El Paso sits on the Rio Grande directly across the border from which Mexican city?

Juárez was founded in 1659 as El Paso del Norte, on the south bank.

Which South Carolina city's harbor holds Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began in 1861?

Charleston Harbor's Fort Sumter took the Confederate bombardment of April 12–13, 1861 that opened the Civil War; the city had been founded as Charles Town in 1670.

Savannah, Georgia's downtown is laid out around how many park-like squares?

Savannah has 22 squares; James Oglethorpe's 1733 plan grew to 24 by 1851, three were paved over in the 1950s, and Ellis Square was restored in 2010.

Which explorer claimed San Diego Bay for Spain in 1542, naming it San Miguel?

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into the bay on September 28, 1542, named it San Miguel and claimed it for Spain; Sebastián Vizcaíno renamed it San Diego in 1602.

Oklahoma City was founded during which 1889 event, gaining 10,000 residents within hours?

The Land Run of April 22, 1889 opened the Unassigned Lands; by nightfall some 10,000 settlers had staked claims around the Oklahoma Station townsite.

Which Nevada city calls itself 'The Biggest Little City in the World'?

Reno's slogan won a 1929 contest to put words on the downtown arch built for the 1926 Transcontinental Highways Exposition.

Providence, Rhode Island was founded in 1636 by which religious exile from Massachusetts?

Roger Williams, banished from Massachusetts Bay in 1635 for his views on church and state, founded Providence in 1636 and named it for God's providence.

Which Kansas city was dubbed the 'Air Capital of the World' in 1929?

Beechcraft, Cessna and Stearman all set up there; Airbus, Boeing suppliers and Textron still build aircraft in the city.

Which Nebraska city is home to Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific and Warren Buffett?

Omaha is home to Berkshire Hathaway and its chairman Warren Buffett, the 'Oracle of Omaha'; Union Pacific broke ground for the transcontinental railroad there in December 1863.

Which company did George Eastman found in Rochester, New York in 1892?

George Eastman incorporated the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester in 1892, four years after selling the first Kodak camera, preloaded with 100 exposures.

Which Alaskan city has been the finish line of the Iditarod sled-dog race since 1973?

Nome has been the finish line since the first Iditarod in 1973; the route honors the 1925 serum run that carried diphtheria antitoxin to Nome by dog sled.

What was the northernmost US city, Utqiagvik, called before a 2016 vote changed its name?

Barrow took its name from Point Barrow, which Frederick Beechey named in 1826 for Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty; voters chose Utqiagvik in October 2016.

Which Californian city was mostly farmland until July 17, 1955, when a theme park opened?

Disneyland opened in Anaheim on July 17, 1955 on 160 acres of former orange groves; Walt Disney could not afford the surrounding land, and motels soon boxed the park in.

Which is the only NFL team owned by a publicly held non-profit corporation?

The Green Bay Packers have been owned by public shareholders since their first stock sale in 1923; the name comes from the Indian Packing Company, which sponsored the team in 1919.

Which city has been Iowa's capital since 1857?

Des Moines replaced Iowa City as Iowa's capital in 1857 and grew into the state's largest city and a major insurance center.

Fargo, North Dakota was founded in 1871 on the floodplain of which waterway?

The Red River of the North flows past Fargo into Canada's Lake Winnipeg; its spring floods, including the record 2009 crest of nearly 41 feet, have repeatedly threatened the city.

Nevada's capital is named after which frontiersman?

Carson City takes its name from the Carson River, which John Frémont named in 1844 for his scout Kit Carson; it became Nevada's territorial capital in 1861.

Which city's official slogan calls it 'The Live Music Capital of the World'?

It hosts SXSW and the long-running PBS concert series Austin City Limits.

Who established the permanent settlement of Dallas in 1841?

John Neely Bryan, a Tennessee lawyer and trader, first surveyed the site in 1839 and in November 1841 built the cabin that became Dallas.

Which city was California's first state capital?

San Jose, founded in 1777 as California's first civilian pueblo, hosted the first state legislature in 1849–51 before the capital moved to Vallejo, Benicia and finally Sacramento.

Columbus, Ohio was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and which other river?

The Olentangy River joins the Scioto just north of downtown Columbus and runs past the Ohio State University campus.

Charlotte, North Carolina is named after the queen consort of which British king?

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz married George III in 1761, seven years before the town's 1768 incorporation; the surrounding county is also named Mecklenburg for her.

Charlotte is the second-largest banking centre in the US and headquarters of which lender?

Bank of America has been headquartered in Charlotte since NationsBank bought BankAmerica in 1998 and took its name; the city is second only to New York as a US banking center.

Fort Worth was established in 1849 as an army outpost overlooking which waterway?

Major Ripley Arnold founded Fort Worth on June 6, 1849 on a bluff above the Trinity River, naming the post for General William Jenkins Worth.

Cecil Calvert, for whom Maryland's largest city is named, held what title?

Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, was the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland, granted to him by the Crown in 1632; the town of Baltimore was laid out in 1729.

Which city is home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889?

The Johns Hopkins Hospital opened in Baltimore in May 1889, funded by the merchant's $7 million bequest; its medical school followed in 1893.

Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritans on which peninsula?

The Shawmut Peninsula, which the Puritans first called Trimountaine for its three hills, was renamed Boston on September 7, 1630 after Boston, Lincolnshire.

Which landmark, opened in 1634, was the nation's first public park?

Boston Common was bought by the town from William Blaxton in 1634 as a shared cow pasture and militia ground, which makes it the nation's oldest public park.

Which settler received Mexican permission in 1839 to colonise the Sacramento Valley?

John Augustus Sutter, a Swiss citizen born in Kandern, Baden, got Governor Alvarado's leave in 1839 to settle the valley and built Sutter's Fort, the seed of Sacramento.

Tampa traces its origins to which military post, established in 1824?

Fort Brooke was established in January 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River during the Seminole conflicts; the village of Tampa grew up beside it.

Tampa's Ybor City industry earned it which nickname?

Tampa became the Cigar Capital of the World after Vicente Martinez Ybor moved his factory there in 1886; Ybor City's Cuban, Spanish and Italian workers rolled hundreds of millions of cigars a year.

Missouri's Gateway city was named in 1764 for which French king?

Pierre Laclède named the post St. Louis for Louis IX, the crusader king canonized in 1297 and patron saint of the reigning Louis XV; Auguste Chouteau began building it in February 1764.

Cincinnati was originally named what by surveyor John Filson?

Losantiville, John Filson's 1788 coinage, stitched together L for the Licking River, Latin os (mouth), Greek anti (opposite) and French ville: the town opposite the mouth of the Licking.

Which Ohio city is nicknamed the Queen City?

Cincinnati was called the Queen City of the West as the largest city beyond the Appalachians in the 1830s; Longfellow's 1854 poem 'Catawba Wine' hailed it as the Queen of the West.

Which Ohio city sits on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Maumee River?

Toledo grew up where the Maumee River enters Lake Erie; Ohio and Michigan nearly fought the 1835 Toledo War over the strip of land around it.

Which Alabama city was nicknamed 'The Pittsburgh of the South' for its steel industry?

Birmingham, founded in 1871 and named for England's industrial city, grew so fast on local coal, iron ore and limestone that it was also called the Magic City.

Richmond replaced which city as Virginia's capital in 1780?

Williamsburg had been Virginia's capital since 1699; Governor Thomas Jefferson moved the government to Richmond in 1780 for safety during the Revolution.

Which Native American band settled Tulsa between 1828 and 1836?

The Lochapoka band of the Creek, removed from Alabama, settled under a council oak on the Arkansas River and called the place Tallasi, 'old town', the root of the name Tulsa.

Which city was known for most of the 20th century as the 'Oil Capital of the World'?

Tulsa called itself the Oil Capital of the World after the 1901 Red Fork and 1905 Glenn Pool strikes; boom-era wealth left it one of the nation's largest art deco districts.

Which Connecticut newspaper is the oldest continuously published in the US?

The Hartford Courant began as the weekly Connecticut Courant in October 1764 and has published without interruption ever since, longer than any other US newspaper.

Which ancient people occupied the Phoenix area for 2,000 years before abandoning it?

The Hohokam dug hundreds of miles of irrigation canals in the Salt River Valley from about 300 AD; drought and floods between 1300 and 1450 are thought to have ended their culture there.

Salt Lake City's street grid uses which corner of Temple Square as its origin?

Salt Lake City's addresses count blocks from the southeast corner of Temple Square, where the 1847 base-and-meridian marker stands at the crossing of Main and South Temple streets.

Atlanta was originally founded as what?

Atlanta began in 1837 as Terminus, the planned end of the state-built Western and Atlantic Railroad from Chattanooga; the name Atlanta was adopted in 1845.

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson became the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic in which year?

Hartsfield-Jackson first topped the world in passenger traffic in 1998, two years after the Atlanta Olympics, and held the title for more than two decades.

Citrus grower Julia Tuttle, who lured Henry Flagler's railroad to Biscayne Bay, came from which city?

Julia Tuttle was born in Cleveland in 1849 and moved to Biscayne Bay in 1891; after the 1894–95 freeze spared her groves she sent Flagler fresh orange blossoms to win his railroad.

Which resort, opened in 1990, is the only theme park inside Orlando's city limits?

Universal Studios Florida opened on June 7, 1990 on land annexed by the city, making Universal the only theme park within Orlando's limits; Walt Disney World sits about 20 miles southwest in Bay Lake.

Which post did Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac found in July 1701?

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, founded by Cadillac on July 24, 1701 on the strait between Lakes St. Clair and Erie, grew into Detroit; Cadillac hoped it would be the Paris of New France.

Besides Motown, which electronic music genre did Detroit give rise to?

Techno emerged in Detroit in the mid-1980s with Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, the Belleville Three; House, by contrast, came out of Chicago.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 flooded more than what share of New Orleans?

Levee failures after Katrina's August 29, 2005 landfall put about 80% of New Orleans under water; more than 1,300 people died and the city's population fell by over half within a year.

Seattle is named for a chief of which peoples?

Chief Seattle (Si'ahl), born about 1786, led both the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples; the settlers adopted his name for their town in 1852.

Which British explorer was the first European to visit the Seattle area, in May 1792?

George Vancouver's HMS Discovery entered Puget Sound in May 1792 during his Royal Navy survey of the Pacific coast; he named the sound for his lieutenant Peter Puget.

Oregon's largest city is named after a Maine city, which was itself named after what?

Portland, Maine took its name in 1786 from the Isle of Portland on England's Dorset coast; Francis Pettygrove then passed the name to the Oregon city in 1845.

Which city is known as the 'Birthplace of California'?

The Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá of 1769 were the first European settlement in the state.

Los Angeles was awarded the Summer Olympics for a third time, for which year?

The IOC awarded Los Angeles the 2028 Summer Games in September 2017, alongside Paris for 2024; LA had hosted in 1932 and 1984.

Under which Spanish governor was Los Angeles founded on September 4, 1781?

Felipe de Neve, governor of the Californias from 1777 to 1782, laid out El Pueblo de Los Ángeles on September 4, 1781 beside the Tongva village of Yaanga.

After the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco hosted which world's fair nine years later?

The Panama–Pacific International Exposition of 1915 celebrated the Panama Canal's opening and San Francisco's rebuilding; its Palace of Fine Arts survives in the Marina District.

Which two Spanish establishments of 1776 grew into the city at the Golden Gate?

The Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís, both founded in 1776 and named for St. Francis of Assisi, were the Spanish seeds of the city; Padre Francisco Palóu founded the mission.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 left more than how many people homeless?

The fire of October 8–10, 1871 killed about 300 people, destroyed some 17,000 buildings and left more than 100,000 of Chicago's 300,000 residents homeless.

Which Chicago museum occupies the Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition?

The Museum of Science and Industry opened in 1933 in the Palace of Fine Arts, the one large building surviving from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park.

Modern New York City was formed by the consolidation of its five boroughs in which year?

The City of Greater New York came into being on January 1, 1898, merging Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island; each borough is coextensive with a county.

Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by which English Quaker?

William Penn, granted the colony by Charles II in 1681, laid out Philadelphia in 1682 with surveyor Thomas Holme, naming it from the Greek for 'brotherly love'.

Which Philadelphia building hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774?

Carpenters' Hall, built by the Carpenters' Company, hosted the First Continental Congress from September 5 to October 26, 1774; the Second Congress met at the State House, now Independence Hall.

The District of Columbia takes its name from which Columbia?

Columbia, a poetic female personification of America coined from Columbus's name, was in wide use by the 1780s; the federal district was named for her in 1791.

Houston was founded on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of two bayous: Buffalo and which other?

White Oak Bayou joins Buffalo Bayou at the 1836 townsite, where the steamboat Laura docked in January 1837 to prove Houston could be a port.

Houston's Texas Medical Center holds what distinction?

The Texas Medical Center, chartered in 1945, is the world's largest concentration of healthcare institutions, with more than 60 member hospitals, schools and research bodies on its south Houston campus.

Which Mexican trader led the 1829 expedition that named Las Vegas?

Antonio Armijo led a 60-man trading party from New Mexico to Los Angeles in 1829–30; his scout Rafael Rivera found the springs in the valley they called Las Vegas, 'the meadows'.

Denver was founded in 1858 at the confluence of Cherry Creek and which river?

Denver grew from the 1858 gold camps where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River; William Larimer named it for James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory.

Anchorage began in 1915 as a tent city near the mouth of which stream?

The tent city at the mouth of Ship Creek housed Alaska Railroad construction workers from 1915; Anchorage incorporated as a city in 1920.

Fort Nashborough, the 1779 settlement that became Nashville, was built on which river?

James Robertson and John Donelson's settlers built Fort Nashborough on the west bank of the Cumberland River in 1779–80; the town was renamed Nashville in 1784.

Which future president was among the three founders of Memphis in 1819?

Andrew Jackson, with John Overton and James Winchester, laid out Memphis in May 1819 on land the Chickasaw ceded in the 1818 Jackson Purchase that Jackson himself negotiated.

Which Smithsonian affiliate in Memphis commemorates the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination?

The National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991 at the Lorraine Motel, where King was shot on the balcony outside Room 306 on April 4, 1968.

At Pittsburgh's Point, the Allegheny and Monongahela join to form which river?

The Allegheny and Monongahela meet at Pittsburgh's Point to form the Ohio River, which flows 981 miles to the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois.

Buffalo, New York lies at the head of which waterway on the Canada–US border?

The Niagara River leaves Lake Erie at Buffalo and runs 36 miles north over Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario, carrying the Canada–US border the whole way.

Indianapolis was established in 1821 for what purpose?

Indiana's legislature picked the central site in 1820 as a planned seat of state government; Alexander Ralston platted Indianapolis in 1821 and the capital moved there from Corydon in 1825.

Which motorcycle maker's museum is among Milwaukee's cultural institutions?

The Harley-Davidson Museum opened in 2008 in Milwaukee, the city where William Harley and the Davidson brothers built their first motorcycle in a backyard shed in 1903.

Under what name was the Missouri city on the Kaw–Missouri confluence incorporated in 1850?

The Town of Kansas was incorporated in 1850 at the river landing below Westport; it became the City of Kansas in 1853 and Kansas City in 1889.

Which city has been Nebraska's capital since statehood in 1867?

Lincoln, then the village of Lancaster, was chosen as capital when Nebraska became a state in 1867 and renamed for the assassinated president; Omaha had been the territorial capital.

Which state capital is the largest by area, ahead of Oklahoma City?

Juneau's city-borough covers about 3,255 square miles, including water and icefield, dwarfing Oklahoma City's 620 square miles, the largest of any capital in the lower 48.

Albuquerque was founded in 1706 and named for a duke who was viceroy of what?

Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés founded the villa in 1706 and named it for the Duke of Alburquerque, then viceroy of New Spain, whose realm ran from Mexico to New Mexico.

Which national laboratory and Air Force base give the federal government a strong presence in Albuquerque?

Sandia National Laboratories sits on Kirtland Air Force Base on Albuquerque's southeast side; Sandia is one of the three National Nuclear Security Administration weapons labs.

San Antonio became the first chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas in which year?

In 1731, 16 families from the Canary Islands founded the Villa de San Fernando de Béxar, Texas's first chartered civil settlement, beside the 1718 mission and presidio.

Which Washington city is known as the birthplace of Father's Day?

Spokane held the first Father's Day on June 19, 1910, organized by Sonora Smart Dodd to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised six children alone.

Which permanently docked ocean liner is a waterfront attraction in Long Beach, California?

The RMS Queen Mary, a Cunard liner launched in 1934, made her final voyage to Long Beach in 1967 and was moored there as a hotel and museum.

How tall is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis?

The Gateway Arch stands 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide at its base; completed in 1965, Eero Saarinen's stainless-steel catenary is the world's tallest arch.

Which 1964 bridge overtook the Golden Gate as the world's longest suspension bridge?

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened on November 21, 1964 with a 4,260-foot main span, 60 feet longer than the Golden Gate's, and held the record until 1981.

Chicago's Willis Tower was the world's tallest building for nearly how long after opening in 1973?

The Sears Tower, renamed Willis Tower in 2009, was the world's tallest building from its 1973 completion until the Petronas Towers surpassed it in 1998, nearly 25 years.

How tall is Seattle's Space Needle?

The Space Needle rises 605 feet; when it opened in 1962 it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi, and it was built to withstand 200 mph winds.

Which two Philadelphia workmen recast the Liberty Bell after it first cracked?

John Pass and John Stow, Philadelphia foundry workers, recast the bell twice in 1753 after the London-made original cracked on its first test ring; their names are inscribed on it.

In what year were the letters 'LAND' removed from the Hollywoodland sign?

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce repaired the derelict sign in 1949 and dropped 'LAND' so it would refer to the district rather than the 1923 Hollywoodland housing development.

The Las Vegas Strip lies mostly in which two unincorporated towns?

The Strip runs about 4.2 miles through the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester, just south of the Las Vegas city limits, under Clark County's jurisdiction.

Nashville's Grand Ole Opry began in 1925 under what name?

The WSM Barn Dance first aired on November 28, 1925 on Nashville station WSM; announcer George D. Hay renamed it the Grand Ole Opry in 1927.

Graceland, Elvis Presley's Memphis mansion, opened to the public as a museum in which year?

Graceland opened for tours on June 7, 1982, five years after Elvis Presley's death; Priscilla Presley opened it to cover the estate's upkeep and taxes.

Which record executive founded the body behind Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1983?

Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records, set up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in 1983; Cleveland won the museum in 1986 and it opened in 1995.

Boston's Freedom Trail passes how many historic sites along its 2.5 miles?

The Freedom Trail links 16 sites, from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument, along a 2.5-mile red line; journalist William Schofield proposed it in 1951.

Which architect submitted the 1929 plans for the San Antonio River Walk?

Robert Hugman's 1929 plan, 'The Shops of Aragon and Romula', turned the flood-prone river bend into the River Walk; WPA crews built it from 1939 to 1941.

Which firm designed the Empire State Building in Art Deco style?

Shreve, Lamb & Harmon designed the Empire State Building, which Starrett Brothers and Eken built in about 13 months, from March 1930 to April 1931; it stands 1,454 feet to the antenna tip.

Olmsted and Vaux won the 1858 competition to design Central Park with which entry?

Olmsted and Vaux's Greensward Plan, chosen from 33 entries in 1858, sank the crosstown roads below grade and laid out the Mall and the Ramble; Seneca Village had been cleared in 1857.

The Boston Marathon starts in which town?

The Boston Marathon has started in Hopkinton since 1924, when the course was lengthened to the Olympic 26.2 miles; the 1897 original began in Ashland.

Which is the earliest-established of New Orleans's Mardi Gras krewes?

The Mistick Krewe of Comus, formed in 1856, staged New Orleans's first organized Mardi Gras parade in 1857 and coined the word 'krewe'; Rex followed in 1872.

Silicon Valley corresponds roughly to the geographical valley named for which saint?

Silicon Valley occupies the Santa Clara Valley, named for Mission Santa Clara de Asís, founded in 1777; Santa Clara County's seat is San Jose.

Detroit's Motown label was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959 under what original name?

Berry Gordy Jr. started Tamla Records in January 1959 with an $800 family loan; he incorporated Motown Record Corporation in 1960 and kept Tamla as an imprint.

Wrigley Field opened in 1914 under what name?

Weeghman Park, named for Whales owner Charles Weeghman, opened on April 23, 1914 for the Federal League; it became Cubs Park in 1920 and Wrigley Field in 1926.

Which is the oldest active ballpark in Major League Baseball?

Fenway Park opened on April 20, 1912, two years before Wrigley Field, making it the oldest active major league ballpark; its left-field Green Monster stands 37 feet high.

Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota was built on the former site of what?

Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Twins and Vikings from 1961 to 1981, was demolished in 1985; Mall of America opened on its site in August 1992, with the old home plate marked inside.

Which frontier commander founded Louisville, Kentucky, on Corn Island in 1778?

George Rogers Clark landed on Corn Island in May 1778 with settlers and militia bound for his Illinois campaign; the settlement moved to the mainland at the Falls of the Ohio in 1779.

Louisville, Kentucky, is named in honour of which French king, whose soldiers were aiding the American Revolution?

Louisville was chartered by Virginia in 1780 and named for Louis XVI, whose 1778 alliance had brought French troops and ships to the American cause.

Which New York City borough, once an independent city and the nation's third largest, has the most residents?

Brooklyn has more than 2.7 million residents, more than the whole of Houston. Had it stayed independent, it would rank among the four largest cities in the country.

Which city among the 25 most populous in the US keeps a low skyline under a 1910 federal height law?

Washington has more residents than Wyoming or Vermont, yet almost no building may rise above 130 feet. If the district were a state, it would rank 49th in population.

Which of California's largest cities is also its own county, the state's only consolidated city-county?

San Francisco has been a combined city and county since 1856, squeezed into about 47 square miles at the tip of a peninsula. Only three California cities have more residents.

Which city is Ohio's most populous and the second largest in the whole Midwest?

Columbus counted 905,748 residents at the 2020 census, which makes it the third most populous state capital in the country. In the Midwest only one city is bigger.

Which Mississippi River city, the nation's fourth largest in 1900, has lost over 60% of its residents since 1950?

St. Louis hosted the 1904 Olympics, the first held outside Europe, when only three American cities were bigger. Its population peaked at 856,796 in 1950.

Which Central Valley city, with more than half a million residents, is California's most populous inland city?

Fresno is the fifth most populous city in California and the nearest major city to Yosemite National Park, about 60 miles to the north.

Seven of the ten most populous US cities, from Los Angeles to Houston, lie in which broad southern region?

The Sun Belt covers roughly the southern third of the country, and analyst Kevin Phillips coined its name in 1969. Air conditioning helped make its long summers bearable for newcomers.

Which upstate city is the second most populous in New York State, far behind New York City itself?

Buffalo has about 278,000 residents, a sliver of New York City's eight million. In 1900 it was the eighth-largest city in the United States.

Which former steel capital is Pennsylvania's second most populous city, with about 300,000 residents?

Pittsburgh was home to about 680,000 people in 1950, more than twice as many as now. Its mills closed in the 1970s and 1980s, and today only Philadelphia is bigger in the state.

Which port is the second most populous city in Los Angeles County and California's largest that is not a county seat?

Long Beach has roughly 450,000 residents and one of the busiest container ports in the United States. Only six California cities are bigger.

Which Midwestern state capital leapt up the population rankings in 1970 by merging with surrounding Marion County?

Indianapolis absorbed more than 300 square miles and some 250,000 people overnight under a plan called Unigov. It is Indiana's most populous city by a wide margin.

Which city at the foot of Pikes Peak, standing more than 6,000 feet up, is the second most populous in its state?

Colorado Springs covers more ground than any other city in its state and stands at 6,035 feet. The US Air Force Academy was built on land the city donated.

Which city, named for the sponsor of the lost Roanoke colony, is North Carolina's second most populous?

Raleigh was established in 1792 specifically to serve as the state capital. Its oak-lined streets earned it the nickname City of Oaks.

Houston is the seat of which county, the third most populous in the United States?

Harris County has roughly five million residents and is the most populous county in Texas. It is named for John Richardson Harris, who founded an early settlement there in 1826.

Which valley north of the Los Angeles Basin holds about 1.8 million people, including a large share of Los Angeles?

The San Fernando Valley, known locally as simply the Valley, also takes in Burbank and Glendale. Its farmland joined Los Angeles in 1915 to tap the city's water supply.

Which Lake Michigan port, whose population peaked at about 740,000 in 1960, is the most populous city in Wisconsin?

Milwaukee is the fifth most populous city in the Midwest. It counted about 577,000 residents in 2020, roughly twice as many as Madison, the state capital.

Which city, billed as the Horse Capital of the World, is the second most populous in Kentucky?

Lexington sits in the Bluegrass region, ringed by hundreds of horse farms and the Keeneland race course. Only Louisville has more residents in the state.

Which East Bay port, the seat of Alameda County, is the third most populous city in the Bay Area?

Oakland runs the busiest port in Northern California and one of the busiest in the country. About 440,000 people live there.

Which Mississippi River port is Louisiana's second most populous city, behind only New Orleans?

Baton Rouge has about 227,000 residents and is the seat of Louisiana's most populous parish. Legislators picked it as the capital in 1846.

Which Arizona suburb has grown to about half a million residents, more than the whole city of Minneapolis?

Mesa is the third most populous city in Arizona and the largest American city that is not the seat of its county. As late as 1960, half its residents made a living from farming.

Which city, nicknamed Rocket City for its ties to US space missions, is the most populous in Alabama?

Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, which developed the Saturn boosters that sent Apollo crews to the Moon. Its metro area, though, is only the state's second largest.

Which Long Island Sound port, once home to showman P. T. Barnum, is the most populous city in Connecticut?

Bridgeport elected P. T. Barnum as its mayor, and his circus spent its winters in town. It lies about 60 miles from Manhattan.

Which Lake Champlain college town of under 50,000 people is the smallest city to be its state's most populous?

Burlington counted just 44,743 residents in 2020, yet nowhere in Vermont is bigger. Ben & Jerry's started there in 1978, in a renovated gas station.

Which city has more residents than Norfolk or Richmond, making it the most populous in its state?

Virginia Beach is listed by Guinness World Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world. About 460,000 people live there.

Sioux Falls, a city that has more than doubled in size since 1980, is the most populous in which state?

South Dakota's biggest city grew from 81,182 people in 1980 to 192,517 in 2020. Its history revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux River.

Which city on the Yellowstone River, nicknamed the Magic City for its rapid growth, is the most populous in Montana?

Billings was founded as a railroad town in March 1882 and boomed almost at once. Its downtown sits in a canyon carved by the Yellowstone River.

Which city is home to nearly four in ten Alaskans, making it by far the state's most populous?

Anchorage had 291,247 residents at the 2020 census, spread across a municipality of nearly 2,000 square miles.

Which city, the seat of Essex County, is the most populous in New Jersey?

Newark had 311,549 residents at the 2020 census, ahead of Jersey City, and is a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. Its airport is one of the busiest in the country.

Which city at the meeting of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek is the most populous in Delaware?

Wilmington stands on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America, founded in 1638. It is named after an English earl.

Which former mill city on the Merrimack River is the most populous in New Hampshire, ahead of Nashua and Concord?

Manchester was named after the English industrial city, and its Amoskeag mills once formed the largest cotton textile plant in the world.

Which city, home to the University of Arizona, is the state's second most populous, with about 540,000 residents?

Tucson, sometimes called the Old Pueblo, lies only about 60 miles north of the Mexican border. Its university was founded in 1885, while Arizona was a territory.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 at Lowell Observatory in which Arizona mountain city, a gateway to the Grand Canyon?

Flagstaff sits at around 7,000 feet, just south of the highest mountains in Arizona. Humphreys Peak, the state's highest point, rises about 10 miles to the north.

Which New Mexico city gave its name to a 1947 incident involving an alleged crashed flying saucer?

Roswell lent its name even though the alleged crash site lay some 75 miles to the north, closer to the town of Corona. The city now holds a UFO festival every summer.

Which Arizona silver-mining town was the scene of the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral?

Tombstone was the most productive silver-mining district in Arizona until its mines hit the water table and flooded. It now draws most of its revenue from tourism.

Which Arizona city on the Colorado River is the sunniest and driest populated place in the contiguous United States?

Yuma is listed by Guinness World Records as the sunniest city on Earth. Tens of thousands of out-of-state visitors spend each winter there.

Which city in the Mesilla Valley, home to New Mexico State University, is the state's second most populous?

Las Cruces has about 111,000 residents and sits on the floodplain of the Rio Grande. Its university opened in 1888 as Las Cruces College and became the territory's land-grant college a year later.

Frank Lloyd Wright built his winter home, Taliesin West, in which Arizona resort city in 1937?

Scottsdale lives on its visitors: tourism employs about four in ten of the city's workers. Wright's desert studio lies at the foot of the McDowell Mountains.

Which northern New Mexico town, a magnet for artists, neighbours an adobe pueblo that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Taos takes its name from the neighbouring pueblo, where people have lived for roughly a millennium. Painter Georgia O'Keeffe was among the artists drawn to the town.

Which New Mexico town grew from a secret World War II laboratory that designed the first atomic bombs?

Los Alamos replaced a remote ranch school that the War Department took over in 1943 for the Manhattan Project. The site was chosen because it was so isolated.

Which West Texas city of nearly 700,000 people keeps Mountain Time while most of the state uses Central?

El Paso is the only major Texas city in the Mountain Time Zone. It is the sixth most populous city in the state and the largest in West Texas.

Which metropolitan area is the most populous in the Southern United States and the fourth largest in the country?

Dallas–Fort Worth spreads across 11 counties and is known locally as the Metroplex. The word, a blend of metropolis and complex, came from an advertising campaign in the 1970s.

Riverside and San Bernardino anchor which Southern California region, a metro area of about 4.6 million people?

The Inland Empire is unusual among big metro areas in having two main focus cities and no single centre. It covers more than 27,000 square miles east of Los Angeles.

St. Petersburg and Clearwater share which Florida metropolitan area of more than three million people?

Tampa Bay counted 3,175,275 residents at the 2020 census. Its biggest city, Tampa, sits across the bay from St. Petersburg.

Which Caribbean city anchors the most populous metropolitan area in Puerto Rico, home to about two million people?

San Juan's metro area takes in neighbouring Bayamón, Caguas and Carolina on the island's north-eastern coastal plain. It ranks as the fourth largest in the island Caribbean.

Which city anchors the largest metropolitan area in the Carolinas, a two-state region nicknamed Metrolina?

Charlotte's metro area is the fourth largest in the Southeastern United States and lies in the rolling Piedmont region. Its suburbs cross the state line into South Carolina.

Which California county south of Los Angeles, home to Irvine and Santa Ana, has over three million residents?

Orange County had 3,186,989 residents at the 2020 census, more than 19 states. It is the third most populous county in California.

Which California city anchors a metropolitan area stretching from the Central Valley to the shores of Lake Tahoe?

Sacramento, the state capital, sits where the American River meets the river that shares its name. About 526,000 people live in the city itself.

Norfolk, Newport News and Chesapeake share which metro region, named for one of the world's largest natural harbours?

Hampton Roads is named for its roadstead, a sheltered stretch of water where ships can anchor. The region is known for its ice-free harbour, shipyards and large military presence.

Which New England state capital anchors a metro area covering its entire state plus part of Massachusetts?

Providence anchors a metro area of about 1.7 million people, roughly half as many again as Rhode Island itself, because it also takes in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

The Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metro area, home to four million people, lies in the lowlands around which inlet?

Puget Sound gives its name to the wider region around Seattle. The metro area's highest point is Mount Rainier, at 14,411 feet.