About three dozen places, landmarks, business, schools and other Cleveland spots are on the board.
Tribune News Service
CLEVELAND, Ohio – You can cheer for the Browns, stop at Brewnuts, gaze at the Terminal Tower, take pride in Cleveland at a script sign, swing by Edgewater Beach and never have to leave your home.
That’s because those popular places are among almost three dozen iconic sites, landmarks, businesses and schools that fill the board on a Cleveland edition of the classic Monopoly game.
Tim Barney, Monopoly manager of Top Trumps, the company behind the game, unveiled the game Wednesday in downtown Cleveland at the Arcade, one of the represented spots on the board.
“Cleveland has been a real treasure for me,” he said. “It’s got amazing culture, really beautiful history. The architecture alone is enough reason to come here and check it out. It’s also made up of really wonderful organizations, landmarks and businesses.”
The original game was patented in 1935 by a Pennsylvania man, though some historical references say a version cropped up years earlier by a woman named Elizabeth Magie. The game remains equally fun and cutthroat: Roll dice, move your piece around the board, and buy up property that you can develop. It’s a race to see who can accumulate wealth and squash competitors while navigating financial pitfalls of life like taxes, jail and rent payments.
As musicians from the Cleveland Institute of Music – another spot on the board — played “Cleveland Rocks” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” Barney said places on the board paid for their inclusion in the game. He did not disclose the amounts, saying it is calculated on a “case-by-case basis.”
Sometimes the company reached out to places; other times it was the other way around, Barney said. Top Trumps also researched the city and invited the public to send nominations of who should be included. Neighborhoods also are interspersed on the board.
One business that was contacted was Brewnuts in the city’s Gordon Square neighborhood. For Shelley and John Pippin, who founded and operate the doughnut shop, the idea of landing on the board was a perfect fit.
“For us, we’ve done zero partnerships that haven’t been things we’ve initiated, and this is the first one that somebody initiated with us where it felt like someone (recognized) us for what we stand for in the community — like a Cleveland destination and icon, which was always our goal when we set out to be something more than a corner doughnut shop,” said Shelley Pippin, who said the shop will launch its sales of the game this weekend. “This was one of the few opportunities where John and I looked at each other and said, ‘Oh yeah, it makes complete sense.’ “
Here are the Cleveland-based spots on the board:
• The Arcade
• Asiatown
• Brewnuts
• Capitol Theatre
• Cleveland Botanical Garden
• Cleveland Browns
• Cleveland Clinic
• Cleveland Institute of Music
• Cleveland Metroparks Mill Creek Falls
• Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
• Cleveland National Air Show
• Cleveland script sign
• Cleveland State University
• Edgewater Beach
• The Exchange
• The Flats
• Growls and Howls Animals Rescue
• Great Lakes Science Center
• Guarino’s Restaurant
• Karamu House
• Menyhart Plumbing & Heating Supply Co. (utility space)
• Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (utility space)
• Northwest Neighborhoods
• Ohio Business Machines
• Rising Star Coffee Roasters
• Riverside Cemetery
• Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument
• St. Ignatius High School
• Sweeties Candy
• Terminal Tower
• USS Cod (community chest)
• Western Reserve Historical Society
• WKYC
“By visiting these landmarks, everyone can gain a greater appreciation of the rich history and beauty of this city,” said Rhonda Brown, the city of Cleveland’s senior strategist for arts, culture and creative economy.
Cost of the game is $44.99 via Top Trumps. Board locations will sell them for $39.99.
