Washington D.C. Trivia

Can you answer these twenty questions about the city of Washington D.C.?

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Last updated: December 9, 2019

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First submitted	October 14, 2013
Times taken	38,984
Average score	65.0%
Rating	4.45

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Question

Answer

What building does the President live in?

The White House

What is the street address of that building?

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

On what river is Washington D.C. located?

Potomac

What is the name for the area between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial?

National Mall

What country gave D.C. its famous cherry trees in 1912?

Japan

What is the tallest structure in the city (not counting radio towers)?

Washington Monument

What motto appears on D.C. license plates?

Taxation without Representation

What D.C. native sang "What's Going On"?

Marvin Gaye

What are the city's two major airports?

Ronald Reagan

Washington Dulles

What name is shared by a D.C. neighborhood and a prestigious D.C. university?

Georgetown

What mayor was caught smoking crack, but was elected again anyway?

Marion Barry

Where was Abraham Lincoln assassinated?

Ford's Theatre

What hotel and office complex was famously burglarized by associates of Richard Nixon in 1972?

Watergate

What chain of 30 government-run museums is based in D.C. and offers free admission?

Smithsonian

What building, located in nearby Arlington County, serves as the headquarters of the U.S. military?

The Pentagon

What newspaper did Woodward and Bernstein work for?

The Washington Post

In what neighborhood would you find the State Department headquarters?

Foggy Bottom

In what war was D.C. burned?

War of 1812

Who was the most famous speaker at the 1963 March on Washington?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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49 Comments

Level 79

Feb 11, 2014

100%- in spite of being gone for close to a decade my DC street cred is in tact.

Level 66

Feb 16, 2014

The neighborhood is much more prestigious than the University. And the proper name for that airport is and always will be "National."

Level 79

Feb 16, 2014

US News ranked Georgetown 20th nationally in a country brimming over with outstanding and prestigious universities... I'd say that's pretty damn good. Above Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, USC, UVA or Wake Forest. There are only 2 countries in the world that have ANY university ranked higher than UCLA if you go by Times Higher Education's list (though they rank Georgetown lower). What is prestigious about the neighborhood? A few odd book/music and curio shops and some overpriced restaurants and apparel stores?

Level 36

Sep 22, 2014

Completely agree with your assessment of the school. The law school is generally top 15 or top 10 in the country. But I completely disagree with your indictment of the neighborhood. It has long been regarded as the neighborhood of prestige. It has the highest cost per residential sq foot of any DC neighborhood, even Kalorama. Why do you think those shops and restaurants are overpriced? Same reason a Ferrari is, because of the prestige. No, it's not Monaco or St. Tropez, but it's the best DC has in that regard.

Level 79

May 28, 2017

haha.. I know it's a prestigious neighborhood. But still, like most prestigious neighborhoods, I usually think of them "so what?" Becoming a prestigious university is more difficult I think.

Level 55

Sep 23, 2024

George Washington is a more impressive institution despite what for profit tabloids like US news say

Level 80

Sep 9, 2014

FYI, Bill Clinton had final approval for the name change.

Level 71

May 28, 2017

Agree on the airport.

Level 54

Feb 16, 2014

No one calls it Reagan Airport - it is either National or DCA - those should be acceptable answers.

Level ∞

Feb 16, 2014

Forgot that the name change was a somewhat controversial decision. National will work now.

Level 79

Feb 17, 2014

I'm from the area, have used the airport many times, and will use the names "National," "Reagan National," or "DCA" pretty much interchangeably.

Level 51

May 30, 2017

I call it Reagan and so does everyone I know.

Level 80

Feb 16, 2014

My first instinct was "Reagan" but maybe it's just because I'm Californian.

Level 93

Feb 17, 2014

Although it is associated with Washington, D.C., the Pentagon is technically in Arlington, VA.

Level 65

Nov 1, 2019

But it’s in the Washington metro area - which is what this quiz is about

Level 59

Nov 9, 2020

Agreed, but the quiz needs a name change. There's no way NOVA is in the district of Columbia.

Washington DC -> Washington,

Level 79

Apr 2, 2014

Actually there are 3 airports -- BWI -- Baltimore Washington International, in addition to Reagan (National) and Dulles.

Level 88

May 5, 2014

seconded

Level 88

Jul 6, 2015

The Baltimore-Washington name change was totally for marketing purposes. Despite them all being in the federal "Baltimore-Washington statistical area," no locals think of Dulles or National as Baltimore airports, or of BWI as a Washington airport.

Level 71

May 28, 2017

I grew up calling BWI Friendship airport. Such a nice name. Now it is official Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. I don't think anyone calls it Marshall or Friendship.

Level 88

May 28, 2017

The DC locals that I've visited consider BWI to be one of the 3 Washington airports. So do Travelocity, Expedia, Kayak, etc.

Level 69

May 30, 2017

Though I agree with you, BWI is closer to downtown DC than Dulles- Dulles is just bigger.

Level 69

May 30, 2017

Actually just looked it up- in straight-line distance, Dulles is about 5 miles closer, but it generally takes longer to get into the city via train or car.

Level 79

Apr 13, 2019

I'm a DC local. I've used BWI many times and when I'm on a travel website and check the "include area airports" box or fill in "WAS" (the code for the entire Washington area) as opposed to "DCA" or "IAD" I will expect BWI to be included in the results. And I am far out in to the Virginia suburbs! If I lived actually within DC or somewhere in the suburbs on the Maryland side then BWI would be either equidistant or possibly closer than Dulles. Not sure what these other people are talking about. Maybe they don't fly as much as I do.

Level 66

Sep 4, 2023

As a Gaithersburg native (and will move back there in a few months), BWI is much more preferable to fly from/to than Dulles especially because there's an express bus (201) that takes you between Gaithersburg and BWI (via Shady Grove Station and a couple of other stops). Even with the Silver Line now fully open, it still takes much longer to get to Dulles than to BWI.

Level 67

Sep 11, 2018

I live right next door to Dulles, and I'll occasionally fly in and out of National (yeah, I can't bring myself to add the "Reagan" part either) if there's a big enough price difference, but BWI might as well be in Guam as far as I'm concerned.

Level 59

Feb 2, 2019

I also live next to Dulles and I flew out of BWI and it was horrible. After a long flight, I really don't wanna be driving an hour an a half back home. The price difference did make it worth it.

Level 79

Apr 13, 2019

I used to live right next to samiamco, the Concord would fly over my house daily as it was coming in to Dulles, I've used BWI many times because there's often cheaper fares there (Southwest hub), and I've used Reagan several times as well and called it Reagan or National without thinking about it.

Level 49

May 28, 2017

Anyone else try 4 Non-Blondes for the "Who sang the 'What's Going On' song?"

Level 92

Aug 12, 2019

Hey yeah yeah. It entered my mind.

Level 43

May 28, 2017

Foggy Bottoms?

Level 85

May 29, 2017

Got 'em all but that bottom question. I kept wanting to put Shockoe Bottom, but that's in Richmond, not DC

Level 44

May 29, 2017

It should be 'burgled' not 'burglarized'

Level 36

Nov 2, 2017

Couldn't remember Marion Barry.

Level 87

Aug 8, 2018

I was disappointed when the neighborhood wasn't Bikini Bottom. I was disappointed again when it wasn't Rock Bottom.

Level 88

Oct 1, 2023

I thought it was soggy bottom but sadly not.

Level 47

Apr 26, 2019

The Japanese also gifted the United States bonsai trees, which can be found in the National Arboretum!

Level 93

Nov 1, 2019

Thank you Die Hard 2 for helping me remember Dulles.

Level 77

Nov 1, 2019

The city is also located on the Anacostia River. Maybe that could be accepted as a type-in?

Level 60

Nov 1, 2019

That's right ... even though Potomac is more commonly known, Anacostia perhaps should be considered, too.

Level 79

Aug 10, 2020

I doubt anyone would try Anacostia before Potomac.

Level 79

Jun 11, 2020

Got stumped thinking the clue said "What's DC native slang for 'what's going on'?"

Jeez

Level 49

Sep 17, 2020

I live in DC, and I didn't know until recently that most people pay to go to museums.

Level 73

Aug 5, 2021

The license plate answer should be updated to "end taxation without representation" rather than "taxation without representation," since that is now the official design.

Level 83

Aug 9, 2024

Throwing cargo into water has a good precedent as a way of achieving this. I look forward to reading reports of crates of coffee beans floating down the Potamac ;-)

Level 80

Oct 3, 2021

Did better than I expected, but missed the cherry trees because I misread it as asking for a city. Was trying Tokyo, Kyoto and so forth.

Level 69

Dec 1, 2022

Used to live just outside DC, easy 5 points. Foggy Bottom must be a hard get for anyone not from the area...

Level 52

Oct 3, 2023

Bro what about BWI? I'd consider that a major DC airport, even if it's a ways from the city -- after all, it has Washington in the name.

Level 34

Feb 11, 2025

I’m a DC native. Could you please accept “WaPo” (pronounced way-poe) for the Washington Post question? It’s a common shorthand term for the popular news outlet among DC locals.