Name That Flyover City! — Oct 27, 2022

Here’s a review of this week’s questions:

1. What southern city is home to Society, an indoor skate park and coffee lounge?
2. What midwestern city is home to the Slippery Noodle Inn, which has been in operation (under several different names) since 1850?
3. What midwestern city is home to the Henry Vilas Zoo, one of the only remaining free zoos in the United States?

And here are the answers:

1. Memphis, TN. Open since December 2019, Society Skatepark and Coffee features one of the only 10-foot vertical ramps in the country. The entrepreneurs who opened Society transported the ramp from a defunct skatepark in Atlanta and made it the centerpiece of their establishment, a former warehouse in Memphis’ Binghamton neighborhood. No ordinary skatepark, Society’s guests are greeted upon entering by a 5,000-square-foot retail space. To the right of the entrance is Zac Roberts’ Contact Skateboard Shop, and to the left is Society’s café, featuring rich wood bars, countertops and tables built by local woodworker Matthew Wrage, who also owns CityWood, a custom woodworking shop in Memphis.
2. Indianapolis, IN. Founded in 1850 as Tremont House, the “allegedly haunted” Slippery Noodle has operated under its current name since 1963. Officially recognized as the oldest bar in Indiana and one of the oldest original structures in the city of Indianapolis, the Noodle offers delicious pub food and live music every weekend. Its illustrious history includes its use as a stop on the Underground Railroad, a bordello, and a horse stable for local gangsters. Design features include a circa-1890 tin ceiling, a 100-year-old “tiger oak” bar and a Tremont House wooden sign that still hangs from the building.
3. Madison, WI. One of only 10 free zoos in the country, the Henry Vilas Zoo was opened in 1911, constructed on land donated by wealthy Madison businessman William F. Vilas and named for his son Henry, who had died five years earlier. The City of Madison assumed ownership of the zoo in 1937 and adhered to the Vilas family’s mandate that admission remain free to all visitors. It has continuously added new attractions, including a Tropical Forest Aviary in 2003, a children’s Zoo Train in 2011 and the Wisconsin Heritage Center in 2016.