Washington D.C. trivia questions and answers are a great way to learn about the history and culture of our nation's capital.
From the White House to the Washington Monument, there are many landmarks and places of interest that make D.C. a unique and interesting place to visit.
How much do you know about our nation's capital?
Test your knowledge with these trivia questions about Washington D.C.
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213 Washington D.C. Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated For 2024)
- A deal is made to make Washington, DC the nation's new capital in "The Room Where It Happens," a song in what smash hit Broadway musical?
Answer: Hamilton
- Washington, D.C. is located on what river, which flows from its namesake Highlands to the Chesapeake Bay?
Answer: Potomac River
- What is the three-letter airport code for the international airport serving Washington D.C.? This airport's official title is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and it is actually located in the neighboring state of Virginia.
Answer: Washington D.C.
- In the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C., along the Anacostia River, is the home Park of what Major League Baseball franchise? Their team name comes from a term for a country’s citizens.
Answer: Washington Nationals
- What is the name of the female personification of the United States -- also what the C stands for in "Washington, D.C.?"
Answer: Columbia
- The White House is blown up by aliens on the Fourth of July holiday weekend in what 1996 Roland Emmerich film?
Answer: Independence Day
- The long grassy, park in Washington, DC, home to the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol among others, is the National ______. Fill in the one word blank.
Answer: National Mall
- What national monument, across the National Mall from the Washington Monument, is designed like a neoclassical temple to commemorate a US president? In the “Planet Of The Apes” (2001), its subject is turned into a monkey.
Answer: Lincoln Memorial
- The famous Washington D.C. cherry blossom trees that bloom along the Tidal Basin were a 1912 gift from the mayor of what international capital?
Answer: Tokyo
- L’Enfant Plaza SW in Washington, DC is home to an international museum dedicated to what three-letter profession, where visitors can learn all about the history and role of espionage?
Answer: Spy
- Held in the U.S. Capitol's House Chamber, what annual speech is typically given by the President of United States every January and fulfills the President’s requirements in Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution to periodically update Congress regarding the status of the nation?
Answer: State of The Union
- One of the National Zoo's most famous residents was what black bear who was rescued from a forest fire as a cub, and who was considered the "living symbol" of a famous cartoon icon?
Answer: Smokey Bear
- The Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. is home to a Museum and former residence and garden of Robert Woods Bliss, the Dumbarton ______ Museum. Fill in the one word blank, the plural of a tree that bears acorns as a fruit.
Answer: Dumbarton Oaks Museum
- Repping social and political scientists, the national honor society Pi Sigma Alpha's headquarters are on New Hampshire Avenue in what guessable U.S. city?
Answer: Washington D.C.
- What Washington DC building is the largest library in the United States, holding almost twice as many volumes as the second-largest?
Answer: Library of Congress
- A Washington, DC museum that includes a replica of the city of Nazareth is dedicated to what book that's sold a whole lotta copies?
Answer: The Bible
- What “H” museum in the National Mall of DC has displayed art and sculpture since the 1960s, thanks to an endowment from the museum’s namesake, Joseph?
Answer: Hirshhorn Museum
- What island, sitting in the Potomac and managed under the National Park Service, was renamed from Mason's Island to the name of America's 26th president in the 1930's? Miles of trails through the natural forest honor this conservationist president.
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt Island
- What U.S. Secretary of State, who served under President Eisenhower, is the namesake of an airport that serves Washington, DC?
Answer: Dulles
- Vice President Kamala Harris and the late actor Chadwick Boseman are among the famous alumni of what historically Black school in Washington, D.C.?
Answer: Howard University
- What is the United States national cultural center that opened in 1971 and is home to frequent performances of performance art including theater, dance, orchestras, jazz, and folk music?
Answer: The Kennedy Center
- The Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, DC is home to a national monument based around a cottage once owned by what 16th president of the United States? He probably needed a break there occasionally, as he was managing the Civil War.
Answer: President Lincoln's Cottage
- What Washington DC neighborhood is home to George Washington University and the headquarters of the State Department?
Answer: Foggy Bottom
- Played by Harrison Ford, one of the White House's most popular fictional residents is President James Marshall, who attempts to retake the title plane from terrorists in what 1997 film?
Answer: Air Force One
- Later renamed, Seattle Grace was the name of the fictional Washington hospital where Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd worked on what long-running TV drama series?
Answer: Grey's Anatomy
- A metonym is a figure of speech in which a thing is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing. Cool, with that definition out of the way, K Street is typically a DC metonym for what industry?
Answer: Lobbying
- When it was founded in 1995, D.C. United was among the first major league franchises for which sport?
Answer: Soccer
- "A Place and a Time" was the first slogan of what legendary D.C. venue, whose name refers to both its original street address and the start time of shows?
Answer: 9:30 Club
- Madam's Organ, a bar in DC's Adams Morgan neighborhood, sits at the site of the original "Children's Bargaintown" store, opened in 1948, and which would eventually become what retail juggernaut? The last US stores, sadly, closed in 2021.
Answer: Toys R Us
- What is the name of the bridge connecting Rosslyn, VA and Georgetown, DC across the Potomac River? Hint: the bridge's name is an eponym of the author of the American national anthem.
Answer: Key Bridge
- What is the name of the esteemed U.S. military cemetery directly across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. which was founded during the Civil War to hold the deceased from the nation's conflicts? The cemetery is operated by the United States Department of the Army.
Answer: Arlington National Cemetery
- Independence Ave in Washington, D.C., is home to a Smithsonian National Museum dedicated to art from what world continent, the second largest and second most populated in the world?
Answer: Smithsonian National Museum Of African Art
- What Spanish-American celebrity chef formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters, in response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake? He is often credited with bringing the small plates dining concept to America, and his most famous restaurant is arguably the 2-Michelin-star "minibar" in Washington, DC.
Answer: José Andrés
- Allison Janney has said that playing C.J. Cregg on what Aaron Sorkin TV series "showed the Camelot version of what goes on" in the nation's capital?
Answer: The West Wing
- What tree is celebrated in a national festival in the spring each year in Washington, D.C.?
Answer: Cherry Blossom
- Once you’ve checked the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument off your list of sites to see in D.C., head to West Potomac Park where you'll the national memorial for which other notable president and Founding Father?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- Franklin D. Roosevelt sponsored the development of what presidential memorial, co-designed by John Russell Pope, which features a bronze statue of the founder of the University of Virginia?
Answer: Jefferson Memorial
- Massachusetts Ave in Washington, DC is home to what major “U” train station for the DC area, sharing its name with a perhaps more well known train station in New York City?
Answer: Washington Union Station
- Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, were discovered at the old Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Today, however, the Naval Observatory is best known as the residence of what figure?
Answer: Vice President of the United States
- 3 Stars, Bluejacket, Mad Fox, and Schnell are all names of what type of company located in DC? They are all part of an industry that has exploded in popularity across the US in the 2010s.
Answer: Breweries
- Home to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League, the Capital One Arena is located in what Washington DC neighborhood?
Answer: Chinatown
- Written in 1889, one of "March King" John Philip Sousa's most popular compositions is a march named after what D.C. publication?
Answer: The Washington Post
- Played by Kerry Washington, Olivia Pope ran a crisis-management firm in Washington, DC on what Shondaland TV series?
Answer: Scandal
- The No Child Left Behind Act was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and was signed into law by what U.S. President?
Answer: George W Bush
- In 2014, the first stage of construction was finished on what colored Metro line designed to provide service to Dulles Airport?
Answer: Silver
- What square in DC’s Ward 2 is bordered by K Street, I Street, and 17th Street? It is named for and has a statue of a Civil War general with an “F” last name who famously said “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
Answer: Farragut Square
- Statue of Freedom is a classical female figure with long, flowing hair wearing a helmet with a crest composed of an eagle’s head and feathers. She wears a classical dress secured with a brooch inscribed "U.S." When you're in DC, you will see this statue atop what famous building?
Answer: The Capitol
- D.C. is considered a "planned city" which makes some sense considering the avenues radiating out from rectangles that make up the core of the city. The architect and city planner was commissioned in 1791 by President Washington and was a man from what country?
Answer: France
- Room 214 of what Washington, DC hotel has been converted to "The Scandal Room," with decor that includes newspaper headlines about Richard Nixon's resignation?
Answer: The Watergate Hotel
- Also known as the President's Park South, the 52-acre park near the White House in Washington, D.C. is named for what shape?
Answer: Ellipse
- A salad made from pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, crushed nuts, and marshmallows is typically named for what D.C. hotel, best known for--shall we say--less delicious reasons?
Answer: Watergate
- Before moving to Washington, DC in 2005, the Nationals were previously known as what Canadian MLB team?
Answer: Expos
- What is the name for Amtrak's high-speed service connecting Boston and Washington DC with major stops in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore?
Answer: Acela
- What is the three-letter name of the six-lane reinforced concrete arch bridge that connects the Rosslyn neighborhood in Virginia to the Georgetown neighborhood in D.C.?
Answer: Key Bridge
- Before it was placed in its current home atop the Washington Monument, the pointed aluminum top of the famous obelisk had a "pop-up" two-day display at what famous NYC luxury jewelry store?
Answer: Tiffany's
- What Washington building was famously destroyed by British troops in 1814?
Answer: The White House
- Washington famously uses letters to denote streets within the city's grid, but what letter from the first half of the alphabet is skipped over in this pattern?
Answer: J
- At a length of 1,908 miles, what is the longest north-south interstate highway in the US? The highway was not fully completed until 2018 when a gap in New Jersey was filled and it now fully connects Florida to Maine while serving all major cities from Jacksonville to Washington to New York to Boston to Portland.
Answer: I-95
- Although Washington has had a locally-elected mayor and a 13-member council since 1973, technically what political body maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws?
Answer: Congress
- What US state capital is closest in distance to Washington, DC?
Answer: Annapolis
- Which department of the US government is often referred to as "Foggy Bottom" because of its headquarters in the Harry S Truman near the same-named neighborhood?
Answer: Department of State
- What DC-area restaurant chain, whose name sounds like a business communication, is famous for its Ted's Tarts, a homemade take on Pop-Tarts?
Answer: Ted's Bulletin
- The mascot of Washington D.C.'s Howard University is what animal, which President Barack Obama declared the United States' national mammal in 2016?
Answer: American Bison
- The podcasts "Fresh Air", "Planet Money", and "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" are all produced by what non-profit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.?
Answer: NPR (National Public Radio)
- What TV series, starring Emily Deschanel as a forensic anthropologist, is set in Washington, D.C.?
Answer: Bones
- What was the name of the gathering of Black American men who gathered on the National Mall in 1995? (Despite the name's implication, the size of the crowd was estimated at 400,000.)
Answer: Million Man March
- Named after its philanthropist founder, what "B" institution headquartered on Washington, DC's Think Tank Row has provided public policy analysis since 1916?
Answer: Brookings
- W Street in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. is home to a National Historic Site dedicated to what African-American abolitionist and statesman, who wrote a narrative of his life in 1845, after escaping from slavery?
Answer: Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
- What are the two Washington DC colleges that came in the top 5 for the best schools in the US for Political Science in a report by College Factual in 2021?
Answer: Georgetown, George Washington
- What is the teamwork-minded nickname of this group of six Democratic House representatives: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush?
Answer: The Squad
- The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848 but construction was halted due to a lack of funds and the intervention of the Civil War. The obelisk's capstone was set on December 6, 1884. The structure was officially opened on October 9, 1888. What is it?
Answer: Washington Monument
- Most movies filmed in D.C. are about politics. One exception is what legendary 1973 horror film starring Linda Blair, which was filmed (and set) in D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood?
Answer: The Exorcist
- Often attributed to a 1980 Virginia newspaper article as the source, the common acronym NIMBY holds what meaning related to local politics and anti-development tendencies?
Answer: Not in my backyard
- What private research university in Washington, DC's Ward Circle has a name that aptly reflects the country in whose capital city it is located?
Answer: American University
- What was the unsurprising surname of the 1915-born politician who became the first mayor of DC in more than a century after winning the District's 1974 mayoral election?
Answer: Walter Washington
- Cover your ears before you answer: What is the name of the Washington Nationals' bald-eagle mascot?
Answer: Screech
- A military program announced by President Reagan in March 1983 promoted funding for lasers and particle beam weapons and was formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. However, what two-word name was the program (somewhat mockingly) nicknamed by the public?
Answer: Star Wars
- The National Mall runs from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial between Independence and what other avenue?
Answer: Constitution
- In 2019, the U.S. Department of State issued more than 20 million of what type of document whose design now includes quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and astronaut Ellison Onizuka?
Answer: Passport
- What is the two-word informal name for the section of Massachusetts Avenue between Scott Circle and the North side of the United States Naval Observatory? The area features diplomatic missions and other diplomatic representations.
Answer: Embassy Row
- Opening in 1856 during the presidency of Franklin Pierce, what restaurant on 675 15th Street NW is the oldest in Washington, DC?
Answer: Old Ebbitt Grill
- "Our American Cousin" is the comedic play seen by Abe Lincoln on the last night of his life. He had tickets to this show at what theater?
Answer: Ford's Theatre
- Washington DC modifies its street addresses by adding a suffix denoting the fact that the city divides itself into what term referring to four regions?
Answer: Quadrants
- Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys played KGB agents masquerading as married Washington, DC couple Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, in what TV series that first aired in 2013?
Answer: The Americans
- Which Washington Nationals player was selected as the MVP of the 2019 World Series?
Answer: Stephen Strasburg
- On what historic Washington DC building would you find a gargoyle that looks like Darth Vader?
Answer: Washington National Cathedral
- With James S. Sherman as his Vice President, William Howard Taft was the only U.S. President to also serve in what position within the United States Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930?
Answer: Chief Justice
- Which U.S. president has a national monument dedicated to them on a 90-acre island in the middle of the Potomac River near Washington DC? Other than a central pavilion with this president’s statue, the rest of the island is largely undeveloped as a tribute to this president’s conservationist ideals.
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- The third entry in an extremely popular post-apocalyptic video game franchise was set in an area known as "Capital Wasteland" which was the ruins of Washington, DC and the surrounding countryside. What is the name of this franchise which shares its title with the term for residual radioactive material in the atmosphere?
Answer: Fallout
- 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad and 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo traveled in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice and killed 17 people over a period of ten months in the early 2000s. Their most infamous string of killings were a series of sniper attacks occurring near the metropolitan area of what large city?
Answer: Washington
- Arlington County was previously, confusingly, named what prior to a 1920 renaming? The county name was shared with its neighboring city although they were distinct jurisdictions.
Answer: Alexandria County
- According to the U.S. World & News Report, the top-ranked public high school in the United States is located outside Washington, DC. What is the name of this school?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
- What President allowed his six children to bring their pets to the White House which included a small bear, a lizard, guinea pigs, a snake, a hyena, a rabbit, and more?
Answer: Teddy Roosevelt
- The Potomac supplies a certain body of water with, well, water. And the Washington Channel receives this body of water's sediment-filled outflow. What is this body of water near the John Paul Jones Memorial?
Answer: Tidal Basin
- What "K" man served as the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford? He was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 and he later received a controversial Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 after negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam.
Answer: Henry Kissinger
- Kiefer Sutherland played a HUD secretary-turned-sudden president on what DC-set political thriller named for a State of the Union failsafe?
Answer: Designated Survivor
- 2360 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, and 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW are all addresses of what type of building in Washington, DC?
Answer: Embassies
- What "epic disaster" 2009 film with a different 21st century year as its title was partially set in Washington DC and involved the construction of nine gigantic arks in the Himalayas?
Answer: 2012
- What building in the DC area is encased in white Alabama marble, has a highly visible location along the Capital Beltway, and emulates a Salt Lake City building with its number of spires?
Answer: Washington DC Temple
- The Phillips Collection is an art museum in Washington that is often considered the country's first museum for modern art. In what neighborhood is the Phillips Collection?
Answer: Dupont Circle
- The U.S. National Cyber Security Division opened for the first time in 2003 and is currently housed within what Federal Department? John Kelly, Kirstjen Nielsen, and Kevin McAleenan all served as Secretary of this Department during the Trump administration.
Answer: Department of Homeland Security
- Tea Leoni stars as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst called to head up a Cabinet department in what political drama series that aired on CBS from 2014 to 2019?
Answer: Madam Secretary
- While the family resided in the White House, the Obama children attended Sidwell Friends, a D.C. school founded by a member of what religious group?
Answer: Quakers
- In 1846, the District of Columbia underwent a "retrocession" in which it returned approximately 31 square miles of land to what U.S. state?
Answer: Virginia
- A gift of 53 trees to the U.S. in 1976 became the basis for a national museum of what Japanese artform, located today in Washington, D.C.'s National Arboretum?
Answer: Bonsai
- The origins and ingredients of this famous sweet and spicy D.C. condiment are highly contested but it also goes by two different names. Give either of these names.
Answer: Mumbo or mambo sauce
- Washington is well-known as having alphabet-inspired street names, starting with A St. What is the first letter of the alphabet without a street name in DC?
Answer: J St
- Owned by the same company that owns the Washington Wizards, what is the also-supernatural name of Washington D.C.'s WNBA team, which won its first league championship in 2019?
Answer: Washington Mystics
- What animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane first aired in 2005 and is set outside of Washington in the fictional Langley Falls, Virginia? Although fictional, the town's name is a combination of two real places, Langley and Great Falls.
Answer: American Dad
- Who was the now infamous Mayor of Washington D.C. in 1989 when The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the District had "the worst city government in America."
Answer: Marion Barry
- Michael Joseph Blassie, who died in the Vietnam War, was identified through DNA testing in 1998 and was reinterred after having been buried in what specific location for the previous 26 years?
Answer: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Washington is well-known for its many and diverse museums, including a dedicated museum to what Asian art form of cultivation? One specimen/work dates back to 1625 and survived the Hiroshima bombing.
Answer: Bonsai
- Up until 1901, the White House was known by what on-the-nose two-word name? We're looking for BOTH words here, and there are two acceptable answers.
Answer: President's House
- The Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, formerly the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., occupies a Romanesque building originally build to serve what purpose?
Answer: Post Office
- There's a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration typically referenced with a well-known two-word phrase. However, in the other country who was party to the event, it is known as the McFarlane affair. What is this event?
Answer: Iran-Contra Affair
- Although formerly known as Meridian Hill Park, what is the more common name locals use when describing the 12-acre park in Washington DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood?
Answer: Malcolm X Park
- In what 1990 action film does Bruce Willis's character partner with a janitor at Dulles International Airport to track down terrorists controlling an air traffic control tower? The events occur on Christmas Day, much like the preceding film in the franchise.
Answer: Die Hard 2
- Which was the first U.S. president to be inaugurated in Washington DC?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- The oldest fish market in the U.S., sometimes known as "the Wharf," is named for what D.C. avenue, itself named for a state associated with seafood?
Answer: Maine Avenue
- Although it continued to lack voting representation in Congress, the 23rd amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1961 and granted how many Electoral College votes to the District of Columbia?
Answer: 3
- At the start of the 20th century, the area near Second and N streets SW in DC was so notorious for violence that it was known by what grisly nickname?
Answer: Bloodfield
- The design for the US Capitol was chosen as part of a contest created by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with a winning prize of $500. Somewhat surprisingly, the winning design was not made by an American but by a native of what modern country?
Answer: Scotland
- As of June 2020, there is one movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that features Washington DC as a prominent setting in the film. On-site filming took place at the National Mall, the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, the Willard Hotel, and Dupont Circle. What is this 2014 film?
Answer: Captain America: The Winter Solider
- What three-word phrase was painted on Washington, DC's 16th Street in 35-foot-high yellow letters on June 5, 2020?
Answer: Black Lives Matter
- As of 2021, the mayor of Washington, DC, a former DC councilwoman, and the first woman re-elected as DC mayor, is Muriel ______. Fill in the blank, also the name of the primary villain in the “Super Mario Bros.” game series.
Answer: Bowser
- What “A” national cemetery, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., owned by the U.S. Army and established in 1864, has buried the nation’s military deaths since the Civil War, including numerous former presidents and their families?
Answer: Arlington National Cemetery
- Played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Selina Meyer learns what life in Washington, DC is really like for the vice president, and eventually becomes president, on what satirical TV series?
Answer: Veep
- The 1982 monument in DC, co-designed by Maya Lin, is black rock inscribed with the names of veterans for what US war?
Answer: Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Glover Road in Washington, D.C., is home to a national park called Rock ______ Park. Fill in the one word blank, a “C” word for a stream or tributary of a river.
Answer: Rock Creek Park
- A memorial in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park, just south of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool, has a series of statues dedicated to what military conflict, an Asian war that took place from 1950 to 1953?
Answer: Korean War Veterans Memorial
- A statue and memorial on West Basin Dr in Washington, DC, designed by Lawrence Halprin and unveiled in 1997, is designed to commemorate what 32nd president of the US, mastermind of the New Deal?
Answer: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
- The Folger Library located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is home to large collection of printed works by what Bard of English poetry and plays?
Answer: William Shakespeare
- After playing two seasons known simply as the Washington Football Team, DC's NFL squad is now rebranding to be known as the Washington WHAT?
Answer: Commanders
- Currently serving as Chief Medical Advisor to the President, what physician showed he was a Nationals fan by wearing a team-branded face mask while testifying before Congress in June 2020?
Answer: Dr. Anthony Fauci
- Highly wanted fugitive Raymond Reddington, also known as "Red," turns himself in to work with CIA profiler Elizabeth Keen on what long-running TV show that has a non-red color in its name?
Answer: The Blacklist
- The Colonel John Tayloe House in Foggy Bottom, famous for being the residence of President James Madison after the burning of the White House, is most often identified what name, referring to its unusual shape?
Answer: The Octagon House
- The 1855 Gothic-Romanesque building known colloquially as "The Castle" is the headquarters of what institution, which administers several other buildings along the National Mall?
Answer: Smithsonian Institution
- The ghost of Mary Surratt is said to haunt her former boardinghouse on H Street. Surratt was the only woman convicted in relation to the murder of what figure?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- He’s best known for playing an NYPD detective, but which actor was born and raised in Washington D.C. long before starring in “SVU,” “Happy!,” and “Oz?”
Answer: Christopher Meloni
- Within Washington DC, near where M Street becomes Canal Road in Georgetown, lies a long, steep staircase resting between a stone wall and a brick warehouse. This structure was featured in a climactic final scene in what 1973 horror movie?
Answer: The Exorcist
- What sixth U.S. president, oddly enough, had a pet alligator that lived in the unfinished East Room of the White House?
Answer: John Quincy Adams
- With revenue over $700 million in 2018 and more than 20 years in the education technology market, what is the name of the privately-held DC-based company which claims more than 17,000 schools and organizations in 100 countries as customers? The company's name is likely to remind you of something you'd find in a school.
Answer: Blackboard Inc
- What Washington D.C. landmark's Thomas Jefferson Room serves as its main reading room?
Answer: Library of Congress
- The first time the U.S. Congress declared war was on June 17 of what year? The declaration was the start of a war against Great Britain.
Answer: 1812
- What is the name of the French military engineer tasked by George Washington to design the urban plan for what would ultimately be called Washington D.C.?
Answer: Pierre Charles L'Enfant
- Known for sporting the letters “T” and “C” on their official caps, what MLB team was founded in Washington D.C. as the Washington Senators in 1901?
Answer: Minnesota Twins
- A nod to the team's slogan of "Stay in the Fight," the 2019 World Series championship rings of the Washington Nationals feature what two-word alliterative phrase on the right side?
Answer: Fight Finished
- Despite housing presidents for many decades, what historic June 2, 1886 event was the first occurrence of its kind at the White House?
Answer: President's Marriage (Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom)
- USGS is a bureau within the US Department of the Interior with the motto "science for a changing world." What do the initials of this organization stand for? The group is headquartered in Reston, Virginia and is a fact-finding organization with no regulatory responsibility.
Answer: United States Geological Survey
- Only one of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, “Ginevra de' Benci,” can be seen by the public in the Western Hemisphere. Which Washington D.C. cultural hub houses the portrait?
Answer: National Gallery of Art
- What D.C. native has served in the role of the district's non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991?
Answer: Eleanor Holmes Norton
- The Washington monument is the tallest non-communications structure in D.C. and was the tallest monument in the U.S. until the completion of the San Jacinto Monument in 1939 in what state?
Answer: Texas
- Before the franchise relocated to the Twin Cities from the East Coast, what was the name of the team now known as the Minnesota Twins?
Answer: Washington Senators
- Fronted by George Clinton, what funk band -- itself named after a non-DC legislative body -- re-envisioned D.C. with Muhammad Ali as President in its 1975 song "Chocolate City?"
Answer: Parliament
- Candice Bergen played the title character, a Washington, DC-based news anchor on the fictional show "FYI," on what actual show that aired on CBS from 1988 to 1998?
Answer: Murphy Brown
- Before a 1996 name change, what was the dangerous-sounding mascot for the Washington NBA franchise?
Answer: Bullets
- Who was the first president to live in The White House?
Answer: John Adams
- Among the many Amtrak services that stop at Washington, DC is what route that starts in New York, ends in Miami, and is named after a tree that grows in the southern United States?
Answer: Palmetto
- A trio of rocky, unoccupied islands in the Potomac west of the Key Bridge have what familial name?
Answer: The Three Sisters
- VP Calvin Coolidge became U.S. President in 1923 after what president died of cardiac arrest while his wife was reading him a magazine article in bed?
Answer: Warren Harding
- In Washington DC's Lincoln Park is a statue of Abraham Lincoln with Archer Alexander, who is the last slave captured under what Act?
Answer: Fugitive Slave Act
- In 1958, high school junior Robert Heft designed an iconic American item that was later accepted by congress in 1959. His teacher upgraded his grade on the design assignment from a B- to an A. What item did young Mr. Heft design?
Answer: The 50-star American flag
- At the 2016 Rio Olympics, an American woman won individual gold for the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle events — the first woman to do so since the 1968 Olympics. Who is this swimmer?
Answer: Katie Ledecky
- In October 1884 in Washington, U.S. President Chester Arthur hosted an international conference to discuss the choice of "a ______ to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world". What word fills in the blank?
Answer: Meridian
- Which famous D.C. jazz club, whose interior partially resembles a cave, is now closed permanently but has been host to famous musicians such as John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong?
Answer: Bohemian Caverns
- Prior to calling Washington home, the professional football franchise in the nation's capital played in a different east coast city. In what (very famous) sports stadium did they play their home games from 1933-36? The stadium is still active today but is home to a non-football sport.
Answer: Fenway Park
- Hardcore band Fugazi was part of Washington DC's well-known scene of musical acts that ignored record labels and emphasized self-sufficiency including as their own tour van drivers. This ethos came to be known by what three-letter acronym?
Answer: DIY
- Which Major League sport do the Washington Bayhawks play at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium? (Hint: They’ve won six Steinfeld Cup titles)
Answer: Lacrosse
- Fittingly, what is the mascot/team nickname of the athletic teams at George Washington University?
Answer: Colonials
- When Amazon selected northern Virginia as 1 of 2 locations for East Coast headquarters, the tech titan used what two-word phrase to describe the area? Journalists and citizens considered it a "neighborhood rebranding" from the area formerly known as Crystal City.
Answer: National Landing
- NGS is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, the organization is based in Washington, D.C. Famously, what color is the group's logo?
Answer: Yellow
- The modern NBA team known as the Washington Wizards began their journey in Chicago as the Packers. Before finally landing in Washington, D.C., the team was transferred to what charming city of the Eastern US?
Answer: Baltimore
- In 2003, John Ashcroft sang “Let The Eagle Soar” while serving what non-musical role in the administration of George W. Bush?
Answer: Attorney General
- Since it was founded in 1965, which Georgetown jazz nightclub has given a stage to the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mary Wilson?
Answer: Blues Alley
- In 2018, D.C.'s National Portrait Gallery unveiled an official portrait of former president Barack Obama, created by what renowned African-American portrait painter?
Answer: Kehinde Wiley
- As measured in square miles, what is the total land area of Washington, DC? We'll accept responses that are within 15 miles of the correct answer.
Answer: 61.4 square miles
- The "British Guiana One-Cent Magenta," the most expensive object of its kind in the world, was displayed in 2018 at a lesser-visited Smithsonian institution known as the National ______ Museum. What word fills in this blank, alluding to the original purpose of the museum's D.C. building?
Answer: Postal
- Corcoran School of the Arts and Design is a professional art school in Washington, DC founded in 1878 and housed in the eponymous Corcoran Gallery of Art. Previously an independent college, Corcoran became part of what DC university in 2014?
Answer: George Washington
- In what decade did the 23rd amendment to the U.S. Constitution grant residents of Washington DC electoral college representation in presidential elections?
Answer: 1960s
- Rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin was born in 1984 in Washington D.C. after his Nigerian parents came to the United States via Austria. His biggest hits include "Lotus Flower Bomb," "Bad," and "On Chill." By what four-letter name is this musician known?
Answer: Wale
- Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, what building lives at 1 First Street, NE, in the block immediately east of the United States Capitol?
Answer: The Supreme Court Building
- The Amistad is the literary arts journal of what private, federally chartered D.C. research university?
Answer: Howard University
- What U.S. president presided over the progressive "New Freedeom" agenda domestically including the Revenue Act of 1913?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- A spinoff of the Disney show "That's So Raven" was primarily set in the White House (especially the kitchen). What was the title of this show which aired between 2007-08?
Answer: Corey in the House
- Originals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights reside in the National Archives' Rotunda for the ___ of Freedom. What "C" word goes in the blank?
Answer: Charters
- What was the original phone number for the White House starting in 1878?
Answer: 1
- What apologetic, 3-syllable marketing slogan did the DC metro system issue in 2019? The campaign famously offers to pay for the price of a rush hour ride if a train is delayed by 10 minutes or more.
Answer: Back2Good
- American singer and dancer Elgin Baylor Lumpkin was born in DC and named after the basketball legend Elgin Baylor who was also born in DC. However, Lumpkin is better known by what one-word "G" stage name? This singer was part of a hit-making duo with producer Timbaland in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Answer: Ginuwine
- In presidential elections, Washington DC receives three electoral votes due to what numbered constitutional amendment, ratified in 1961?
Answer: Twenty-third
- The Washington Nationals have a famous 4th-inning promotion in which presidential mascots participate in a running race. What U.S. president has won the highest number of races (through the 2018 season) with over 300 victories?
Answer: Abe Lincoln
- Which later-assassinated president was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected to the presidency?
Answer: James Garfield
- Excluding Martha's children from a prior marriage, how many children did George and Martha Washington have together?
Answer: Zero
- In a 1952 speech, Richard Nixon denied using political contributions for personal expenses, but famously said he'd keep what cocker spaniel given as a gift?
Answer: Checkers
- Baseball's traditional 7th-inning stretch was inadvertently started when what U.S. President stood to stretch his legs at a DC baseball game in 1910?
Answer: William Howard Taft
- There was a treaty signed in Versailles that stripped Germany of colonies, gave the Polish Corridor to Poland, placed the Saar Territory under French administration, and placed the Rhineland under Allied occupation. In what year was this treaty SIGNED? The actions did not take place until the subsequent year.
Answer: 1919
- Although it typically requires binoculars to spot, what famous movie villain has a sculpture on the National Cathedral? Technically, it's a limestone grotesque and part of the building's rain control system.
Answer: Darth Vader
- Blue Iris Flowers, Southern Maryland Seafood, and Union Meat Company all call what DC-building home? The building was first opened in 1873 and designed by German-born immigrant Adolf Cluss.
Answer: Eastern Market
- Modeled after a famous European competition that has gone on for more than 60 years, what new NBC reality show features musical acts from all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C.?
Answer: American Song Contest
- At least 7 of these meteorological events have hit Washington since record-keeping began in 1950, with the most recent a fairly mild 2017 event which damaged trees on Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. What is this event?
Answer: Tornado
- Navy and yellow are the only two colors on the "sunburst" official flag of what Washington "trust instrumentality?"
Answer: Smithsonian Institution
- Appropriately enough, the National Arboretum is located in what green-sounding Washington, DC neighborhood that lies just north of Union Market and NoMa?
Answer: Ivy City
- In what year did a Constitutional Amendment give residents of the District of Columbia electoral votes in presidential elections? We'll accept responses that are within five years of the correct answer,
Answer: 1961 (1956 - 1966 accepted)
- Created in January 1993 by Executive Order 12835, what government body coordinates economic policy with the White House and is currently overseen by its Director Larry Kudlow?
Answer: National Economic Council
- Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted D.C. citizens 3 electoral college votes?
Answer: 23rd
- The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 was an act of Congress that repealed the individual charters for the cities of Washington what other city? It also established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia.
Answer: Georgetown
- What experimental hardcore band "F" band formed in Washington DC in 1987, chose their name based off a Vietnam war acronym, and helped kickstart "DIY" culture by avoiding any contact with the formal record industry?
Answer: Fugazi
- The 1939 film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" helped make Jimmy Stewart a star. What man directed "Mr Smith" and also directed Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life?"
Answer: Frank Capra
- Every summer, tennis pros from around the world come to play at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center during which competition that's sponsored by an American banking and credit card company?
Answer: Citi Open
- On a list of United States rapid transit systems by ridership, you'd find New York City #1 with 9,117,400 average riders each day in Q4 2019. Which U.S. city has the #2 system with 816,700 average riders a day across that same period?
Answer: Washington, D.C.
- As of November 2017, which of the Washington Metro lines had the most active stations (28 total)?
Answer: Silver Line
- The "Era of Good Feelings" is a period in the political history of the U.S. typically considered as having a unified sense of national purpose and a desire for unity. This "Era" was in the aftermath of what war?
Answer: The War of 1812
- Deanwood, Fairfax Village, Skyland, and Kenilworth are all D.C. neighborhoods found in which of the city's nine wards? The current city councilmember from this ward is a former mayor of D.C.
Answer: Ward 7
- Founded in 1974 by Ann and Dennis Ratner in West Springfield, Virginia, what unisex hair salon became the largest privately-held salon chain in the United States by the mid 2010s? The chain entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2020 in part due to suspended operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer: Hair Cuttery
- Which DC Metro stop has not only the longest escalator in the DC Metro system but the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere?
Answer: Wheaton
- What is the alliterative H-name of the former Kennedy residence just outside Washington D.C. in McLean, Virginia? The home, purchased by John F. Kennedy in 1955 was then sold to his brother Robert Kennedy in 1956 and finally sold out of the family in 2009.
Answer: Hickory Hill
- What D.C.-based newspaper, founded in 1969, is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States?
Answer: The Washington Blade
- What Taiwanese-born fashion designer famously created the gowns Michelle Obama wore to the inaugural balls in 2009 and 2013?
Answer: Jason Wu
- Only one U.S. President is buried in Washington, DC. Which man is this?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- What was the most populous city in the Confederate States of America?
Answer: New Orleans
- On the fateful night in which Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre, he was seeing a play about an American's embarrassing interactions with his aristocratic British family members. What was the name of this play?
Answer: Our American Cousin
- Although formally titled "The Report of the Senate Parks Commission. The Improvement of the Park System fo the District of Columbia," the 1902 plan for the park system near the National Mall in D.C. is often named for what Senator from Michigan?
Answer: McMillan Plan
- Fort Davis, Fort Dupont, Fort Stanton are all neighborhoods located within which of Washington's 8 Wards?
Answer: Ward 7
- The U.S. Census is administered every 10 years, including in 2020. During which census year did Washington, DC report its highest population? This was the only time the District reported a population over 800,000.
Answer: 1950
- Although the area is not known for a large number of tornadoes, one month has been the most common time for these extreme weather events in Washington since records began in 1950. What is this tornado-laden month?
Answer: May
- Six of the top 10 buildings in the American Institute of Architects' 2007 ranking of "America's Favorite Architecture" are in D.C. These include the White House, the US Capitol, the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What is the one additional D.C. building that was not just listed?
Answer: Washington National Cathedral
- On July 16, 1790, what Act officially approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast?
Answer: The Residence Act
What makes Washington D.C. trivia so engaging?
For one, the nation's capital is brimming with history.
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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