60 free Indianapolis trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
48 free Indianapolis trivia questions with answers. Indianapolis was drawn on paper before anyone lived there: a planned capital laid out on a mile square around a circle, which is why locals call it the Circle City. This quiz covers the whole story — the 1821 plat, the world's first union station, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, the Unigov merger, and the Indianapolis 500 that turned a brick-paved oval into the world's largest single-day sporting event. There are questions on the Colts and Pacers, Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Children's Museum, Eli Lilly, Kurt Vonnegut, Madam C.J. Walker, Benjamin Harrison, Crown Hill Cemetery and the tenderloin sandwich. The easy questions ask which state capital this is and what the winner of the 500 drinks in victory lane. The hard ones want the height of the monument, why the milk tradition started with buttermilk, which coach Hinkle Fieldhouse is named for and how many people are buried at Crown Hill. Good for race weekend, a school unit on Indiana or a Naptown pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the city and its landmarks, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Indianapolis is the capital and county seat of which county?
Marion
Since the 1970 Unigov consolidation the city and county are nearly coterminous.
Q 02In what year was Indianapolis established as a planned city for Indiana's state government?
1821
The state government did not actually move there from the old capital until 1825.
Q 03Who platted the original mile-square city with Elias Pym Fordham?
Alexander Ralston
Ralston had helped survey Washington, D.C., which explains the radial avenues.
Q 04Where was Indiana's state capital before it moved to Indianapolis in 1825?
Corydon
The old capitol in Corydon still stands as a state historic site.
Q 05What is the city's official slogan?
Crossroads of America
It reflects the city's role as a rail and highway hub.
Q 06Indianapolis sits along the west fork of which waterway?
The White River
The west fork flows 31 miles north to south through the city.
Q 07The 'Circle City' nickname comes from what feature of the original 1821 plan?
A central roundabout
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument now stands in the middle of it.
Q 08What is the name of the 1970 city-county consolidation?
Unigov
It added more than 300 square miles and 250,000 people to the city overnight.
Q 09The 1853 Indianapolis rail terminal shared by several railroads was the world's first what?
Union station
A larger Romanesque station replaced it on the same site in 1888.
Q 10The National Road, which reached the town in 1827, was notable as the first what?
Federally funded major highway
It runs through the city as Washington Street.
Q 11The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on the circle is roughly how tall?
284 feet
It was the second-tallest monument in the country when finished, only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
Q 12Who designed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, dedicated in 1902?
Bruno Schmitz
It was the first US monument dedicated to the common soldier and took thirteen years to build.
Q 13Outside Washington, D.C., which city has the largest collection of monuments to veterans and war dead?
Indianapolis
The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza alone covers 24 acres and houses the American Legion.
Q 21Which team owner bought the Speedway and the IndyCar Series from the Hulman family in 2019?
Roger Penske
Tony Hulman had bought it from Eddie Rickenbacker after World War II.
Q 22NASCAR's 400-mile race of 1994 was the first non-Indy 500 race at the Speedway since what year?
1916
It drew more than 250,000 spectators, then a NASCAR record.
Q 23The Colts moved to Indianapolis in 1984 from which city?
Baltimore
They famously left in Mayflower moving vans in the middle of the night.
Q 24Which coach and quarterback led the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI?
Q 14The Indianapolis 500 is billed as the world's largest what?
Single-day sporting event
The Speedway's permanent seating alone holds more than 257,000 people.
Q 15Who won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?
Ray Harroun
He raced without a riding mechanic and instead fitted a rear-view mirror.
Q 16What does the Indy 500 winner traditionally drink in victory lane?
Milk
It began when Louis Meyer asked for buttermilk after his 1933 win and a dairy executive saw the photo.
Q 17How many cars traditionally start the Indianapolis 500?
33
They line up in eleven rows of three; the field was capped in 1912.
Q 18How long is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval?
2.5 miles
Drivers cover 200 laps to reach 500 miles.
Q 19Which of these drivers has NOT won the Indy 500 four times?
Mario Andretti
Hélio Castroneves is the fourth member of the four-win club; Andretti won it once, in 1969.
Q 20The Borg-Warner Trophy, presented since 1936, is decorated with what?
Sculpted faces of every winner
It stands nearly 5 feet 4 inches and weighs about 153 pounds.
Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning
Manning was named the game's MVP; it was the franchise's first title in over three decades.
Q 25Before Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008, the Colts played in which domed stadium?
RCA Dome
It was originally the Hoosier Dome and was demolished to expand the convention center.
Q 26The Indiana Pacers began in 1967 in which league?
The ABA
They won three ABA titles before joining the NBA in the 1976 merger.
Q 27The Pacers' name refers to harness racing and what else?
Indy 500 pace cars
The team has reached the NBA Finals in 2000 and 2025.
Q 28Reggie Miller earned what nickname for his clutch shooting against one particular team?
Knick Killer
He was drafted 11th overall by Indiana in 1987 and spent his whole career there.
Q 29The city's Children's Museum, founded in 1925, holds what world distinction?
Largest of its kind
It covers 472,900 square feet on five floors and was founded in 1925.
Q 30Which pharmaceutical giant, founded in the city in 1876, is its largest private employer?
Eli Lilly
It was the first company to mass-produce both insulin and the Salk polio vaccine.