The name Milwaukee traces its origin from the Potawatomi Tribe’s word for “gathering place by the water”: Mahn-ah-wauk. However, it was first recorded in 1761, when a British officer wrote the name of the city as Milwacky. Residents later on settled for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Facts Trivia Questions and Answers – 2022 – 2023
Did you know that for 11 days each summer, Milwaukee hosts the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest? The festival marks 1,000 performances with nearly one million attendees, making it the king of all music festivities.
There are way incredible things to find in Milwaukee; from the historic brewery to art museums and baseball e.t.c. The following trivia exercise will unleash impressive facts about Milwaukee sure to leave you wanting just a morsel more.
1. What was the worst winter in the 20th century?
2. How many socialist mayors does Milwaukee have between 1910 and 1960?
3. What mass transportation idea was begun in Milwaukee to make traveling safer?
4. How many Indian tribes lived in the area of Milwaukee before its settlement?
5. Besides having the largest brewery production in the country, what else was Milwaukee noted for?
6. In 1889 the state of Wisconsin passed a bill requiring children over the age of five to attend school 60 days a year. Residents of Milwaukee fought against it, why?
7. Milwaukee has long been noted for its Brats and Beer(YEAH) but in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and sometimes today, it was called Cream City, why?
8. In 1898 Milwaukee turned itself around establishing sporting parlors in the riverside area which attracted tourists from Europe. What is a sporting parlor?
9. Shortly before Wisconsin became a state in 1848, two towns merged to become Milwaukee, what were they called before?
10. At one time Milwaukee had the claim of a bar on every corner, while not true, at one time it was close to true. How did this happen?
11. Which beer-savvy Milwaukee tavern serves Scotland’s Skull Splitter Ale?
12. What is a “beermergency?”
13. Why does George Webb have two clocks?
14. What is Springfield named in “The Simpsons,” prompting Homer to shout: “In your face, Milwaukee!”?
15. From whom did Frederick Miller buy a small brewery in 1855?
16. What city does the band What Made Milwaukee Famous live in?
17. What actually made Milwaukee famous?
18. Commerce Street used to be which of the following:
A. Route of proposed subway system
B. Major Milwaukee thoroughfare
C. Canal
D. Farmland
19. What high school and restaurant were inspiration for “Happy Days?””
20. How many words appear on the steps near Beerline and Commerce Street?
21. How many rivers meet near Downtown Milwaukee?
22. John Norquist, after his mayoral terms in Milwaukee, bought a whose home in Chicago?
23. True or false: Foie gras will be banned in Milwaukee restaurants starting in January 2008?
25. Which was an early name for Wisconsin Avenue?
26. In 1983, a cup of house blend (Copenhagen) coffee at The Coffee Trader, 2625 N. Downer Ave., set you back how much?
27. Whose number does not hang from the Bradley Center rafters?
28. Name the bar at the corner of 37th and Burnham.
29. Who was Eero Saarinen?
30. Who was Milwaukee’s youngest elected mayor?
31. True or false: You are legally allowed to carry open beers anywhere in the city during Summerfest?
32. Who lives in the house with the car on Humboldt?
33. Former Milwaukee “shock jock” Bubba the Love Sponge was on which Milwaukee radio station?
34. Which two Milwaukeeans appeared on Def Poetry Jam in 2007?
35. Which Milwaukee restaurant owner named his restaurant after his mother?
36. Where does Milwaukee Admirals’ owner Harris Turer get his hair cut?
37. How many stories is the U.S. Bank building?
38. Daniel Hoan became mayor in 1916. What was his margin of victory?
39. Gertie the Duck is perched where?
40. Match the popular dessert to its restaurant.
1. Roots
2. Bacchus
3. Cafe Lulu
4. Savoy
41. Which item can you buy at A Woman’s Touch?
42. Former Summerfest director Bo Black is married to which Major League Baseball coach?
43. Which venue has the highest beer prices?
44. In which movie did John McGivern have a small role?
45. What is the first name of the Cowboy Kettle Korn guy?
46. True or false: The BoDeans once opened for U2?
47. George, Frank and Rich Keppler own what Milwaukee company?
48. What animal is rumored to be buried under the Summerfest grounds?
49. Who owned Nacho Mamma’s?
50. How many MCTS bus routes are there?
51. Which Milwaukee DJ climbed out on a 21st-floor ledge outside his studio in an effort to entice The Who to play in Milwaukee during its farewell tour?
52. Which song did The Who open with on Dec. 7, 1982, at the Milwaukee Arena?
53. Where did Milwaukee Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak’s wife, Jan, play college basketball?
54. Which Milwaukee group was named “Best New American band” by Rolling Stone readers in 1987?
55. Which Indian tribe called Milwaukee home?
56. Which former Milwaukee mayor was not a socialist?
57. Which Milwaukee DJ introduced The Beatles before their 1964 show at the Arena?
58. Who was the first band to play at the Marcus Amphitheater?
59. Which athletic jacket did Chris Farley wear in the opening scene of “Tommy Boy?”
60. Who designed the distinctive basketball floor at MECCA?
61. When the Brewers went to the World Series in 1982, what was their flagship radio station?
62. Which hotel is considered by some guests to be haunted?
63. Which notable figure did not attend Shorewood High School?
64. What was Harry Houdini’s childhood job in Milwaukee?
65. Which musician promoted his performance at the Riverside Theater from the back of a truck on Wisconsin Avenue?
66. What made the Allen-Bradley clock famous?
67. What is the name of the giant pig inside Major Goolsby’s?
68. A feud between which two businessmen resulted in Milwaukee’s bridges being built on an angle?
69. In what year did the Boston Braves become the Milwaukee Braves?
70. What does the name “Milwaukee” mean?
71. What is the affectionate nickname of the Usingers Famous Sausage company?
72. Which of these Milwaukee natives has a school named for her?
A. Oprah Winfrey
B. Jane Kaczmarek
C. Golda Meir
D. Kristen Johnston
73. Which of the following structures was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?
A. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
B. War Memorial Center
C. The Domes
D. None of the above
74. Which local university was named after the first European to arrive in Milwaukee?
75. Which member of The GoGo’s attended UW-Milwaukee?
76. Which of the following was not an original Milwaukee beer baron?
A. Frederick Pabst
B. Frederick Miller
C. Joseph Schlitz
D. Valentine Blatz
E. None of the above
77. Milwaukee is the official national headquarters for which sport?
78. What did Christopher Latham Sholes invent in Milwaukee in 1867?
79. In which city was the Wisconsin State Fair originally held?
80. Which music venue shares a building with a swimming pool?
81. Which president was nearly assassinated near the present-day Hyatt Regency in the early 1900s?
82. What is not represented by a color in the Wisconsin State Fair logo?
A. Sports
B. Entertainment
C. Brewing
D. Industry
83. Who did the Milwaukee Brewers play in their first-ever game in 1970?
84. Which Milwaukee ethnic festival is the oldest?
85. Where is the copper dome?
86. Which of the following Milwaukee landmarks was not featured in “Major League”?
87. Milwaukee restaurant that President Bill Clinton dined at in 1996?
88. Who is the “girl on the moon” on Miller Beer’s label?
89. Where is Bronzeville located?
90. What year did the current Shops of Grand Avenue open?
91. Which Milwaukee musician did Halle Berry marry in 2001?
92. Who was Bud Selig’s college roommate?
93. Which state also has a Milwaukee?
94. Which band was playing at the Modjeska Theatre when the stage collapsed?
95. Which magazine’s Web site recently named Milwaukee the drunkest city in the U.S.?
96. What was painted on the side of the old water intake off the shore of Bradford Beach?
97. What was formerly located on the Summerfest grounds?
98. What is the “Pepperoni Cannoli” guy’s real name?
99. On what holiday did The Nomad open?
100. Where is the snake button?
101. Which building was home to the first Milwaukee Public Museum?
102. Which of the following is not a designated “sister city” of Milwaukee?
A. Galway, Ireland
B. Morogoro, Tanzania
C. Florence, Italy
D. Schwerin, Germany
103. Who is Garrik Patten?
104. The Milwaukee County Zoo named a bush baby after a judge on what popular TV show?
105. Who was the first player in NBA history to finish a regular season in the top 20 in all five major statistical categories: total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks?
106. Which Buck was famous for his “skyhook” shot?
107. What is the name of the Bucks’ official mascot?
108. Who holds the franchise record for most steals in a single game?
109. What is the Milwaukee Bucks longest winning streak?
110. Which Buck scored the most points in a single game?
111. Who was the first player in franchise history to win Sixth Man of the Year?
112. Who holds the franchise record for most blocked shots in a season?
113. Which Buck was nicknamed “the Squid”?
114. How many first-round draft picks did Milwaukee have in 1977?
115. What is the franchise record for the most points scored in a game?
116. Which Milwaukee draft pick refused to play for the Bucks?
117. Who was the Bucks’ very first draft pick?
118. Which Bucks rookie did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar punch during a game in 1977?
119. Who holds the franchise record for three-point accuracy?
120. Which Milwaukee Buck won the NBA’s first Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1983?
121. Which player filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA?
122. Which player did Milwaukee receive from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guard Brandon Jennings?
123. Which player holds the single-season franchise record for offensive rebounds?
124. Who holds the franchise single-season record for assists?