If you're anything like us, you've been playing a lot of games and doing a lot of puzzles since the pandemic began. We've been trying to keep you entertained in Charleston Scene, and this week's edition is our latest way of doing that. 

Welcome to our trivia edition, with 100 questions about Charleston, brainstormed by our Charleston Scene team. Test your knowledge of the place we call home and compare your smarts with your family and friends. 

If you're stumped, you might want to start by trying your hand at the other puzzles in this edition. If you solve our word search, scrambler and secret decoder, you'll have all the answers to the trivia questions below. Then it'll be up to you to match those answers with the right questions.

We also have an answer key below for those of you who are scratching your head and simply must know the facts.

Good luck!

  1. What is the name of the 20th-century folk opera written by George and Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward that’s set in Charleston on the fictional “Catfish Row”? 
  2. What was the name of the original Charles Towne settlement on the Ashley River? 
  3. What Charleston resident and alleged ghost was the first female serial killer in the U.S., according to legend? 
  4. Which Charleston plantation has the nation’s oldest landscaped gardens? 
  5. The first shot of the Civil War took aim at Fort Sumter. Where was that shot fired from?
  6. What famous longstanding advertising sign will you find at 901 Savannah Hwy., just outside of Avondale?
  7. Charleston porch ceilings are painted this “shade” of blue to keep away sinister spirits, according to Gullah tradition.
  8. The South Carolina Aquarium houses a habitat and hospital for which oceanic animal species?
  9. The original USS Yorktown sunk during which 1942 World War II battle?
  10. The pineapple is the symbol of what?
  11. 1977 marked the founding of what festival in Charleston?
  12. The current Dock Street Theatre is located on the former site of what establishment, for which a punch cocktail is named?
  13. This writer was stationed in the Army at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island and has a tavern named in his honor.
  14. What 2004 romance drama was filmed in Charleston, including scenes in front of the American Theater and at Cypress Gardens?
  15. The circle, cross and star-shaped bolts that can be seen on the sides of historic Charleston buildings were added to protect from what natural disaster? 
  16. What African American community leader, co-founder of the Emanuel AME Church and organizer of a slave revolt, has a memorial statue in Hampton Park? 
  17. Known as “The Gentleman Pirate,” what famous seafaring criminal was brought to Charleston and hanged at White Point Garden in 1718? 
  18. What celebrity is a co-owner of the Charleston RiverDogs? 
  19. What is the formal name of Fast & French on Broad Street? 
  20. 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of what West Ashley historical site that underwent major renovations after Hurricane Hugo? 
  21. What is the oldest active theater company in Charleston?
  22. What Folly Beach store has all of your food and beverage needs for a day at the beach, prides itself on serving all types of beachgoers and never closes? 
  23. What soda fountain will you find in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village?
  24. What Charleston street artist became famous for his “Andre the Giant” stencils and stickers?
  25. What downtown Charleston bar sells more 12 oz. cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon than any other bar in the country?
  26. A decades-old Charleston festival claims to be the largest of its kind in the world to host this food-centric Lowcountry social gathering?
  27. You can smash objects for fun at what Charleston entertainment venue, the first of its kind to open in town?
  28. What Charleston bookstore is named after the item that sits outside the shop with a stack of books on it?
  29. Charleston is home to the oldest public building in South Carolina, which is what historic Cumberland Street site?
  30. What Charleston institute founded in 1865 documents the legacy of African Americans, particularly those living in the Lowcountry?
  31. What was the name of the groundbreaking LGBTQ-inclusive night club, once located at the corner of King and Market Streets and known casually as “The J.C. Penney Disco,” that now shares its name with a Southern culture magazine?
  32. Former First Lady Barbara Bush and author Madeleine L’Engle are both alumnae of what college preparatory school in Charleston? 
  33. College of Charleston lore says that if a student walks across what school landmark before their commencement, they will not graduate on time? 
  34. The skeleton of what large animal hangs from the ceiling of the Charleston Museum?
  35. Who composed the 1923 tune “The Charleston” whose rhythm became the foundation for the famous dance? 
  36. What famous group of Charleston musicians helped establish jazz as an art form?
  37. What was the first licensed brewery to open in South Carolina since the fall of Prohibition?
  38. What is the name of Charleston’s women’s roller derby team? 
  39. Which Charleston-area resident created “Vice Principals” and “The Righteous Gemstones”?
  40. Established in 1748, what is the South’s oldest cultural institution?
  41. The shopping extravaganza that shuts down some of King Street each month is called what?
  42. What Isle of Palms music venue and bar was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and rebuilt?
  43. What band with members currently living in Charleston became famous for their 1994 album “Cracked Rear View”?
  44. Name the hymn former President Barack Obama sang during the eulogy for the late Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was murdered in the 2015 Emanuel AME massacre in Charleston?
  45. Where did George Washington worship when he visited Charleston during a tour of the Southern states in 1791?
  46. What pub near Waterfront Park is covered in dollar bills on its ceiling and walls?
  47. What Charleston art museum has an internet-famous pug named Grace? 
  48. What were the Charleston RiverDogs known as from 1985-1993?
  49. The fourth-largest island on the U.S. eastern coast is in Charleston County. It’s home to some of the area’s best boating, Low Tide Brewing and The Angel Oak. What island is this?
  50. The playing surface at TD Arena, home of CofC basketball, is named after what former CofC men’s basketball coach?
  51. Shannon Faulkner was the first woman admitted to what Charleston college?
  52. If you’re in the area of downtown Charleston that’s home to D’Allesandro’s Pizza and Cutty’s, then you’re in what neighborhood?
  53. What was the former name of the Charleston Fun Park, where you can play putt-putt and ride go karts?
  54. Prior to being a popular gathering spot and home of the High Water Festival, what park was once a key location for the Charleston Naval Base? 
  55. 60-foot-tall “The Washout” is the Charleston area’s tallest water slide. Where can you find it?
  56. What kind of suit, popular in Charleston, is traditionally worn only between Memorial Day and Labor Day?
  57. What two East Side bars are partly owned by Shep Rose of “Southern Charm”?
  58. According to legend, what item in the pocket of Civil War submarine The Hunley’s captain saved him from a gunshot during the Battle of Shiloh?
  59. The ancient Megaladon has left what fossil behind that can be found on Charleston area beaches?
  60. This company leaves its powder blue bicycles all over town to rent for a ride.
  61. In Charleston, it’s not a cockroach. The insect is called what?
  62. Anthony Wright was a local legend in Charleston, known best for his joyful personality, signature song, sweetgrass hat and appearances at RiverDogs games. What name is Anthony Wright better known by?
  63. Before the days of The Music Farm and The Music Hall, performers like Elvis Presley, Count Basie and Ozzy Osbourne played at what wrestling venue that is now The Palace apartments?
  64. In 1960, two dozen black students from Charleston’s Burke High School gathered at the S.H. Kress & Co. lunch counter to protest being denied service. What occupies the building now?
  65. Philip Simmons specialized in ironwork in Charleston. What is his most photographed gate at St. Michael’s Alley?
  66. What Lowcountry landmark that served as a graffiti backdrop for the greater community was washed away by Hurricane Irma but now resides at The Barrel?
  67. Who is the mascot for Charleston’s minor league hockey team?
  68. Rainbow Row is composed of how many different pastel-colored buildings?
  69. Stephen Colbert and Sturgill Simpson sang their anthem “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Knuckleheads” in front of the Lowcountry location of what chain restaurant?
  70. What Lowcountry lighthouse has red and white stripes?
  71. Where in Charleston can you sing karaoke seven nights a week?
  72. What local band founded the High Water Festival?
  73. The intersection of Meeting and Broad streets features four historic buildings used by federal, state, local and religious institutions. This intersection is known as what?
  74. What plantation’s African American cemetery, dating to around 1790, is one of the oldest African American cemeteries in the nation still in use?
  75. What New York Times best-selling author, a native of Sullivan’s Island, wrote novels set in the Lowcountry?
  76. What Charleston area music venue hosted Alan Jackson the night after it first opened?
  77. Which BBQ maker with a restaurant in Charleston won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast in 2018?
  78. Charleston’s religious tolerance and numerous historic churches inspired what nickname?
  79. What’s the name of downtown’s comedy mystery theater on Church Street (Hint: it’s a type of hat)?
  80. What Miss South Carolina Teen USA and Miss Teen USA winner lived in Charleston for a stint and was a host for current Netflix hit show “Love is Blind”?
  81. The Citadel is one of two military schools in the Charleston area. What is the other one?
  82. Watercolor artist Alice Ravenel Huger Smith was part of what arts movement?
  83. What performance venue was formerly a school gym?
  84. A stretch of Highway 17 in the downtown area known as The Crosstown is named for what civil rights activist?
  85. What were the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon originally known as (not to be confused with another building of this name near Fleet Landing)?
  86. What plant that grows on Lowcountry oak trees adds beauty and atmosphere swaying in the wind but houses itch-inducing redbugs?
  87. Lorraine “Rainey” Evans was better known by what name when she hosted a children’s program on Channel 5 in Charleston from the 1960s through the 1980s?
  88. What name is shared by a Charleston soccer team and seawall?
  89. Which influential abstract artist from Charleston has a contemporary art institute named after him?
  90. The Charleston Tea Plantation is located on what island?
  91. If you’re visiting Waterfront Park or the Dock Street Theatre, you’re in which Charleston historic district?
  92. In 1985, Robert Lawrence Huger opened what historic soul food restaurant on the East Side, known for its shark steak?
  93. Before they relocated to Fort Myers, Fla., what was the name of the NBA Development League team that played in North Charleston from 2001-2004?
  94. Where in Charleston can you get a “galactic dog,” “astro dog” and “rocket corn dog”?
  95. Isle of Palms and Folly Beach hosted what amusement park ride in the early 1900s?
  96. What spiritual song that translates to “Come By Here” was known to be sung by the Gullah-Geechee people of coastal South Carolina?
  97. What Charleston building was the location of the city’s first interracial workers strike in 1945, where the anthem "We Shall Overcome" was sung?
  98. S.N.O.B. is the acronym for what downtown Charleston restaurant?
  99. What author, who was recruited by The Citadel to play basketball, wrote the novels “The Prince of Tides” and “The Great Santini,” which were later turned into Oscar-nominated films?
  100. What are the names of the two newspapers that merged in 1991 to form The Post and Courier?
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Reach Kalyn Oyer at 843-371-4469. Follow her on Twitter @sound_wavves.

Kalyn Oyer is a Charleston native and the features editor for The Post and Courier. She's a music festival and concert photographer and avid showgoer who used to write about music for the Charleston City Paper as well as national publications.

Reporter

Adam Parker has covered many beats and topics for The Post and Courier, including race and history, religion, and the arts. He is the author of "Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr.," published by Hub City Press, and "Us: A Journalist's Look at the Culture, Conflict and Creativity of the South," published by Evening Post Books.

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