If you Google “Indianapolis quiz,” AI generates a “custom, interactive quiz” and one of the questions is, “Monument Circle sits at the center of downtown Indianapolis, but what specific monument rises from its center?”

Thrilling.

If you’ve lived in Indy for more than 20 minutes, you deserve better. So we came up with 10 questions—plus a bonus one, about potholes—that will test your less-obvious knowledge of the Circle City.

How well do you know Indianapolis?

1. This food craze took over Indy’s food scene in the early 1900s. It was:

The popcorn craze

The tamale craze

The chicken a la King craze

The sweet pudding craze

The “snow-colored” food craze

2. In 1933, Indiana Avenue became the scene for Indy’s first:

Black-owned movie theater

Louis Armstrong performance

Pansy ball

“Groggery grocery”

“Cakewalk” dance contest that parodied formal white behavior

3. In 1822, Indianapolis was invaded by:

A molasses flood

Squirrels

A cholera epidemic

America’s first Whig convention

Giant hogweed

4. Before it was demolished in 2001, Market Square Arena (now the site of 360 Market Square and Whole Foods) was the stuff of legend. Which one of these did NOT happen there?

Credit: Indiana Historical Society

Michael Jordan made his highly anticipated comeback from NBA retirement

Elvis played his final concert

Wayne Gretzky played his first pro hockey game

Robert Indiana created the “world’s largest pop painting” on the Pacers’ court

André the Giant beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

5. True, kinda true or false? Indianapolis once had a Chinese mayor.

Credit: Provided photo/Indy Arts Council

True

Kinda true

False

6. From 1880 to 1948, the English Hotel & Opera House was a fashionable attraction on Monument Circle. Which of the following statements is not true?

Credit: Indiana Historical Society

During a production of “Ben Hur,” horses ran at full speed on a treadmill in the chariot race scene.

Laurence Olivier performed there.

Eva Peron made an appearance on the balcony during her Rainbow Tour.

Guests were transported to the different floors in a gilded iron elevator cage.

It was demolished to make room for a J.C. Penney building.

7. First, mules pulled streetcars in Indianapolis. In 1890, electric streetcars took over. What year did the last streetcar, nicknamed “A Streetcar Named Expire,” make its final run?

Credit: Bass Photo Co Collection, Indiana Historical Society

1938 (also the year Indy jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was born)

1942 (the year the Indy 500 was cancelled during World War II)

1953 (the year ACLU of Indiana was founded)

1964 (the year the Beatles performed at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum)

1970 (the year Unigov went into effect)

8. The annual Indianapolis Prize is given to:

An unfortunate newsmaker

A playwright

A conservationist

A pharmacist

A religious leader

9. To revive interest in the Negro Leagues in the 1950s, the owner of the Indianapolis Clowns brought on Toni Stone, the first woman to play in the men’s league. Who did she replace?

Credit: Ben Rose/Indianapolis Black Theater Company

Willie Mays

Hank Aaron

Satchel Paige

Roy Campanella

Monte Irvin

10. These five people are famous for their cult or cult-like followings. Which has a connection to Indy?

Ruth Norman

Guru Jagat

Marshall Applewhite

Gwyneth Paltrow

Charles Manson

Bonus question: How many potholes did the city fill in 2025?

Credit: Claire Nguyen/Mirror Indy

70,201

35,587

87,479

288,419

You don’t want to know.

Δ

Sources: Nicole Martinez-LeGrand; Indiana Humanities; IndyStar; Kelsey Green; Encyclopedia of Indianapolis; Indiana Humanities; IU Indianapolis; city of Indianapolis.

Correction: Question No. 4 has been updated to reflect the correct location where the former Market Square Arena stood.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletters.

Amanda Kingsbury is Mirror Indy’s managing editor of innovation. You can reach her at amanda.kingsbury@mirrorindy.org.

Published as part of a national effort by local newsrooms to reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. See coverage from other newsrooms.

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Take the quiz: How well do you actually know Indianapolis?

by Amanda Kingsbury, Mirror Indy
June 26, 2026

<h1>Take the quiz: How well do you actually know Indianapolis?</h1> <p class="byline">by Amanda Kingsbury, Mirror Indy <br />June 26, 2026</p> <p>If you Google “Indianapolis quiz,” AI generates a “custom, interactive quiz” and one of the questions is, “Monument Circle sits at the center of downtown Indianapolis, but what specific monument rises from its center?”</p> <p>Thrilling.</p> <p>If you’ve lived in Indy for more than 20 minutes, you deserve better. So we came up with 10 questions—plus a bonus one, about potholes—that will test your less-obvious knowledge of the Circle City.</p> <p><em>Sources: Nicole Martinez-LeGrand; Indiana Humanities; IndyStar; Kelsey Green; Encyclopedia of Indianapolis; Indiana Humanities; IU Indianapolis; city of Indianapolis.</em></p> <p><em>Correction: Question No. 4 has been updated to reflect the correct location where the former Market Square Arena stood. </em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-history-quiz/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=84547&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-history-quiz/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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