Q1: Where was the song Yankee Doodle first penned?
Q2: Name two things that were invented in Albany.
Q3: Who was Albany named after?
Q4: The oldest pulpit in America, which was carved in Holland in 1656 can be found where?
Q5: Who is buried beneath the front vestibule at St. Peter’s Church?
Q6: What was read at the corner of State and Broadway, in front of the SUNY Plaza, for the first time in New York State?
Q7: What was the name of the first successful steamboat that made its run from NYC to Albany in 1807?
Q8: How long did it take to complete the existing Capitol Building?
Q9: For a period of time, who lived in the pink house just off North Pearl Street next to McGeary’s?
Q10: How much did the Empire State Plaza cost to build?
Q11: How much does the Half Moon weathervane on top of the SUNY building weigh?
Q12: In 1848, what caused 600 homes in the Mansion Hill neighborhood of Albany to burn down?
Q13: What is the connection between Alexander Hamilton and Phillip Schuyler?
Q14: What Albanian killed Alexander Hamilton?
Q15: How much do the tides of the Hudson River vary?
Q16: Why does the state Capitol have 17 steps approaching its western entrance and 77 steps approaching its eastern entrance?
Q17: New York’s Capitol is the oldest in the United States not to have what of any kind?
Q18: When Theodore Roosevelt was governor, how did he exercise every morning?
Q19: What amusement park ride was invented by an RPI graduate?
Q20: What four NYS Governors became President?
Q21: What three NYS Governors served as Vice President?
Q22: Who was the murderer at Cherry Hill?
Q23: What was Washington Park originally the site of?
Q24: How many miles long is the NYS Thruway?
Q25: What is the State Flower?
Q26: What is the State Bird?

Answers are located at the bottom of the this page, "Albany Trivia Answers".

Albany Fun Facts:

* Santa Claus, and the first celebration of the feast of St. Nicholas in America, probably originated in Albany (imported from the Netherlands). The first mention of Santa Claus anywhere in America is in the Van Rensselaer papers in the State Education Dept. collection of historic manuscripts. There are records of Ft. Orange and Beverwyck celebrating the arrival of St. Nicholas with his sleigh and reindeer and coming down the chimney to put presents in childrens' stockings, going back prior to the 1650s. 

* The fable of A Bakers Dozen originated in Albany, probably back when it was Beverwyck. 

* Don’t miss the boat, and “time, tide, sodawater and steamships wait for no man” started with the Albany Dayline steamboat. 

* Albany is the oldest continuous settlement in the original 13 English colonies. We had a fort built here prior to 1614. Jamestown was settled in 1607 but abandoned in 1699. Today Jamestown is a national park and archaeological site with no buildings. The Puritans didn’t land in Massachusetts until 1620. 

* The very first passenger railroad in America was the Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad. It ran from the intersection of Western and Madison Avenues into downtown Schenectady.  Erastus Corning was the President and Stephen Van Rensselaer was the largest stockholder. 

* Minnie Temple, the model for Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) in Portrait of a Lady, lived with the James Family on Pearl Street in Albany. She was the cousin of author Henry James.

* Isaac Jogues escaped from his Indian captors in Albany and boarded a ship back to Europe. 

* General William Jenkins Worth, who Ft. Worth Texas is named after, lived in Albany (actually Broadway in Colonie). 

* William Paterson, Governor of New Jersey, whom Paterson New Jersey is named after, lived his last years in Albany and is buried in ARC.

* Judge (later Governor), John Tayor and his son-in-law Dr. Cooper lived at 50 State Street in Albany.  It was at his house that Alexander Hamilton uttered the derogatory remarks about Burr that lead to the duel.

* The first time that Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, Clara Harris, Henry Rathbone, and John Wilkes Booth ever saw each other was in Albany. Senator Ira Harris, his first wife Clarissa, his second wife, Pauline, and Henry Rathbone were from Albany. The Lincolns were visiting on their way to Washington and Booth was performing at Albany’s Gaiety Theater.

* Toilet paper was invented and patented in Albany.

Weather Fun Facts

• July is the average warmest month.
• The highest recorded temperature was 103°F in 1936.
• January is the average coolest month.
• The lowest recorded temperature was -28°F in 1971.
• The maximum average precipitation occurs in June.