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164 free New York City trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
51 free New York City trivia questions with answers. New York City is the most-quizzed city on Earth, and most NYC trivia online recycles the same five facts. This set goes deeper: how the five boroughs came to be one city in 1898, why Wall Street is called that, which bridge had its name misspelled for half a century, where the world's biggest pile of gold actually sits, and who is running City Hall right now. The 164 questions run from easy warm-ups (which borough is the most populous, what the Staten Island Ferry costs) to genuinely hard ones about the Guggenheim, the Apollo Theater and a certain Tribeca firehouse. It suits commuters, transplants, bar-trivia hosts and anyone who has ever argued about the best slice. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia or an official source, and the sentence that establishes it is shown under each question, so you can settle the argument on the spot.
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Q 01From which country was the Statue of Liberty a gift to the United States?
France
France: the statue, officially 'Liberty Enlightening the World', was proposed by Édouard de Laboulaye and paid for by French public subscription; its torch was shown at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.
Q 02Which two landscape architects are credited with designing New York City's Central Park?
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux
Central Park was designed by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose 'Greensward Plan' won a design competition in 1858. Construction of the park began in 1857 and it was largely completed by 1876.
Q 03In what year was the Brooklyn Bridge officially opened to the public?
1883
The iconic Brooklyn Bridge, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River, officially opened to the public on May 24, 1883. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Q 04The first regularly operated line of the New York City Subway system opened in which year?
1904
The first regularly operated line of the New York City Subway, run by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), began service on October 27, 1904. It initially ran from City Hall to 145th Street in Manhattan.
Q 05Roughly how long did the Empire State Building take, from groundbreaking to opening day?
About 13 months
About 13 months: work began on March 17, 1930 and the Art Deco tower opened on May 1, 1931, though the Depression left it so empty it was nicknamed the 'Empty State Building'.
Q 06Which is the only New York City borough situated almost entirely on the North American mainland?
The Bronx
It borders Westchester County to the north, and is separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River.
Q 07What was the Midtown plaza now named for The New York Times called before the paper moved there in 1904?
Longacre Square
Longacre Square was renamed Times Square in April 1904 when The New York Times moved into its new tower where Broadway crosses Seventh Avenue; the Times Square subway station opened that October.
Q 08Roughly how many immigrants were processed at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954?
12 million
About 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954; its peak year was 1907, when more than a million arrivals were processed.
Q 09What symbolic height did One World Trade Center reach when its spire was completed in 2013?
1,776 feet
1,776 feet, echoing the year of the Declaration of Independence; the spire was completed in May 2013, and the tower had passed the Empire State Building as the city's tallest in April 2012.
Q 10On which Wall Street building's balcony did Washington take his oath of office in 1789?
Federal Hall
Federal Hall on Wall Street hosted Washington's inauguration on April 30, 1789, and the 1st United States Congress; the original building stood from 1703 until it was demolished in 1812.
Q 11Which of these is NOT one of New York City's boroughs?
Westchester
Westchester is the county just north of the Bronx. Each of the five boroughs doubles as a county of New York State.
Q 12Which director of New Netherland is credited with buying Manhattan Island from the Lenape in 1626?
Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit, director of New Netherland, made the 1626 purchase; the deal is recorded in a letter by Pieter Schagen dated November 1626, the earliest surviving account of the transaction.
Q 13In what year did the modern city form through the consolidation of its five boroughs?
1898
Consolidation took effect on January 1, 1898, joining Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx with Manhattan and making the city the second-largest in the world behind London.
Q 21The 1792 Buttonwood Agreement, signed by two dozen brokers, was the origin of what institution?
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange traces its origin to the Buttonwood Agreement of May 17, 1792, named for the buttonwood tree the 24 brokers are said to have met beneath at 68 Wall Street.
Q 22In 2006, which show overtook Cats to become the longest-running musical in Broadway history?
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera passed Cats on January 9, 2006 and finally closed in April 2023 after 13,981 performances.
Q 23Through the 2025 season, how many World Series titles had the Yankees won?
27
Q 14Which borough has the largest population?
Brooklyn
Brooklyn, with about 2.7 million residents in the 2020 census, is the most populous borough, ahead of Queens at 2.4 million.
Q 15Which borough has the smallest land area?
Manhattan
Manhattan covers about 23 square miles of land, the smallest of the five boroughs; Staten Island is about 58 square miles and Queens, the largest, about 109.
Q 16John J. Fitz Gerald popularized 'the Big Apple' in the 1920s while covering what beat?
Horse racing
Horse racing: Fitz Gerald wrote the 'Around the Big Apple' racing column for the New York Morning Telegraph after hearing stable hands use the term; the city revived the nickname in a 1970s tourism campaign.
Q 17How many stations does the NYC Subway operate, counting transfer-linked stations separately?
472
472 stations, counting transfer-linked stations separately, a total reached when the Second Avenue Subway opened in January 2017; that is more than any other system in the world.
Q 18Grand Central Terminal has how many platforms, more than any other railroad station in the world?
44
44 platforms serving 67 tracks on two levels, the most of any railroad station in the world; the terminal opened on February 2, 1913.
Q 19Which skyscraper's architect secretly assembled a spire inside its frame in 1929 to win a height race?
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building: architect William Van Alen had the spire secretly assembled inside the fire shaft and hoisted into place in about 90 minutes in October 1929, beating rival 40 Wall Street.
Q 20Wall Street is named for a wall Peter Stuyvesant built in 1653 to defend against whom?
English colonial troops
English colonial troops: the 1653 palisade went up during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when New Amsterdam feared an attack from New England; the Dutch called the street Het Cingel, 'the Belt'.
27 titles through 2025, the most of any MLB franchise, the last in 2009; the club began in 1903 as the Highlanders and took the Yankees name in 1913.
Q 24The Mets' blue and orange colors were chosen to honor which two departed National League teams?
Dodgers and Giants
Dodgers blue and Giants orange: both National League clubs left for California after the 1957 season, and the Mets arrived in 1962 to fill the gap.
Q 25Madison Square Garden sits directly on top of what?
Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station lies beneath the Garden; the arena opened in 1968 after the original 1910 station was demolished, an act that spurred the city's 1965 landmarks law.
Q 26The Rangers, founded in 1926 by promoter Tex Rickard, belong to which storied group of NHL teams?
The Original Six
The Original Six, the clubs that made up the NHL from 1942 to 1967; the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup, won with Mark Messier and Brian Leetch, ended a 54-year wait.
Q 27Nathan's Famous began in 1916 as a Coney Island stand selling hot dogs for how much?
A nickel
A nickel, half the dime that rival Feltman's charged; Nathan Handwerker, a former Feltman's employee, opened the stand in 1916 with $300 in savings.
Q 28The High Line park was built on top of what?
A former freight rail spur
A former freight rail spur of the New York Central Railroad carries the walkway, which was inspired by the Coulée verte in Paris.
Q 29How much does it cost to ride the Staten Island Ferry between St. George and Whitehall?
Nothing at all
Nothing at all: the 50-cent fare was abolished in July 1997 under Mayor Giuliani, making the 25-minute crossing between St. George and Whitehall free.
Q 30The first Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop welcomed which year?
1908
The first ball drop, on December 31, 1907, welcomed 1908; the drop was skipped on New Year's Eve 1942 and 1943 because of wartime lighting restrictions.