Queens Trivia Quiz

Answer: Idlewild Airport

Idlewild Airport opened on July 1, 1948. It was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963, in tribute to the slain American President. JFK Airport is located on the southern side of Queens and is one of the busiest international airports in North America.

JFK has served as a hub for several airlines including JetBlue, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Pan Am and TWA. The building in the photograph was used as a terminal for TWA from 1962-2001 and is currently utilized as a hotel.

Answer: Gil Hodges

The Marine Parkway Bridge is a vertical lift bridge that provides a link from southeastern Brooklyn to the Rockaway peninsula, which belongs to the borough of Queens. The bridge was first opened on July 3, 1937. The center portion of the bridge between the towers rises to a height of 150 ft (46 m) above sea level to allow large ships to pass beneath it.

On April 4, 1978, the bridge was dedicated to former Brooklyn Dodgers player and New York Mets manager Gil Hodges (1924-1972), who led the Mets to their first World Series championship in 1969.

Answer: Jamaica

The neighborhood of Jamaica is located in southern Queens, north of JFK Airport. It was not named after the Caribbean nation. The name is derived from the Native American Lenape word "yameco", which means "beaver".

The building in the photograph is Jamaica Station, which was first built in 1836 and has been rebuilt several times throughout its history. Jamaica Station is the third busiest rail station in New York City behind Penn Station and Grand Central Station. It is a major stopping point for the Long Island Railroad, the E line of the New York City Subway, the JFK AirTrain as well as over a dozen bus routes.

Answer: Jackie Robinson Parkway

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) was the first African-American baseball player to break the color barrier when he was selected to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

The roadway in the photograph was originally known as simply the Interboro Parkway. It was first constructed in 1935 and provides a high speed connection between the neighborhood of East New York in Brooklyn to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens. The road was renamed the Jackie Robinson Parkway in 1997, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of his breakthrough season.

Answer: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is located in north central Queens. The park stretches to over 2.5 miles (4 km) in length from north to south. There are tons of recreational activities to be found at the park.

The northern end of the park houses the Queens Museum, the Queens Zoo, the New York Hall of Science and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The central portion of the park features several baseball fields, playground areas and an area dedicated to model airplanes. The central portion also includes Meadow Lake where people can rent boats. Meadow Lake is connected to Willow Lake, which is located at the southern end of the park.

Answer: Unisphere

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was first built to serve as the home of the 1939 New York World's Fair. The park would also host 1964 New York World's Fair, which the Unisphere was built for. The Unisphere, located on the northern end of the park, has a height of 140 ft (43 m).

You may also recognize the two towers in the background. They are part of the New York State Pavilion, which was also constructed for the 1964 World's Fair. They are not spaceships as depicted in the 1997 film "Men in Black", but were designed as observation towers. The tallest of the towers rises to 226 ft (26 m). There is actually a third tower, but it is much shorter than the other two.

Answer: 7

The 7 line of the New York City Subway originates at 34th Street and 11th Avenue on the west side of Manhattan and ends at the Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue station in Queens. The 7 train stops at the Willets Point station, which sits just to the south of Citi Field, which has been the home of the New York Mets since 2009. The stadium is located north of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Answer: Shea Stadium

The New York Mets played at Shea Stadium from 1964-2009. It stood in the same location where Citi Field now resides (in the photo you can see Citi Field being constructed in the background). It was named after William Shea (1907-1991), who is credited for spearheading a movement to bring a National League baseball team back to New York City after the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers both left for California in 1957.

Shea Stadium also served as the home field of the New York Jets football team from 1964-1983, after which the team moved out to the Meadowlands in New Jersey along with the New York Giants football team.

Answer: Queensboro Bridge

The Queensboro Bridge (aka 59th Street Bridge) provides a link between Queens and Manhattan and was first opened to traffic on March 30, 1909. It is a 7,449 ft (2,270 m) long cantilever bridge with four towers, which measure at 350 ft (107 m) in height. The bridge features a double deck roadway, as well as rail lines for subways. The bridge can also accommodate pedestrian traffic. In 2011, the Queensboro Bridge was dedicated to former NYC Mayor Ed Koch (1924-2013).

The Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges are both located in northern Queens and provide a link to the Bronx. The Triborough Bridge provides a link between Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.

Answer: Mayor

Initially known as New York Municipal Airport, it was later named after former NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1947). Mayor LaGuardia was not happy when a flight he was on was ticketed to go to New York, but had instead landed at Newark Airport, which is located in northern New Jersey. He soon began a project to construct a major airport within New York City.

LaGuardia Airport completed on December 2, 1939 in northern Queens, nearly a decade before Idlewild/JFK was constructed. LaGuardia remains a busy commuter airport today. However, due to the airport's size and short runways, flights are restricted to destinations no more than 1,500 miles away (except on Saturdays or if the destination is Denver, Colorado).