disKCovery

I would like to dedicate this article to the memory of two titans of Kansas City barbeque who we recently lost.

On December 4, 2021, we lost Rob Magee, the innovative chef who revolutionized beef brisket preparation and founded the Q39 BBQ restaurants.

Then, on January 21, 2022, Danny Edwards of Danny Edwards BLVD BBQ passed away. Edwards was a second generation KC Pitmaster and the son of BBQ Legend “Big Jake” Edwards.

Thank you both for everything you did to enhance the World Capital of BBQ.

The Monopoly board that we all know and love is actually based on Atlantic City, New Jersey but don’t worry - a Kansas City edition is in the works! PHOTO CREDIT - Rachel Dignan

Published February 2, 2022

It was the evening after Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs walked off on the Buffalo Bills in an instant classic and I was scrolling through Twitter after work. In my scrolling, a tweet from Mayor Quinton Lucas, where he was posing in a photo with Uncle Pennybags, caught my eye.

Seemingly lost in the noise of the Chiefs’ incredible 13 second drive to force overtime and advance to their fourth consecutive AFC Championship, was a really cool announcement from Hasbro Gaming.

Uncle Pennybags, interchangeably known as Mr. Monopoly, is the globally recognized mascot for the ever-popular board game Monopoly. On Monday, January 24, during a press conference at Ilus W. Davis Park in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas and representatives from Hasbro announced that the company will be releasing a special Kansas City edition of Monopoly.

First sold in 1935 by Parker Brothers, Monopoly is available in 47 languages with multiple versions spanning all interests, genres, and geography. This latest edition from Hasbro will feature Kansas City and be the latest in an expansive catalogue of special editions of the hit board game.

Top Trumps USA, Inc. will manufacture the game for Hasbro and the company is actually taking suggestions regarding what Kansas Citians would like to see in the game! While the corner spaces (GO, JAIL, FREE PARKING, and GO TO JAIL), Community Chest and Chance spaces, and the game tokens will remain the same - the other 30 spaces on the board will be rebranded to represent Kansas City. Even the Chance and Community Chest cards are in play to be tailored to the City of Fountains.

In fact, between now and March 13, Kansas Citians can actually email kansascity@toptrumps.com with your recommendations of what you would like to see on the game board. Prizes will be awarded by the company. The game is expected to be available in October of this year.

I don’t know about you, but I love Monopoly. I grew up on the game. My dad was a Monopoly fiend* and that love of the game was passed on to me and my five brothers. We would spend hours playing until someone either won, or much more likely, flipped over the board in a fit of adolescent rage. We spent hours because, like many, we had our own house rules that made the game last forever. The biggest culprit was that we paid all of our taxes and fines to FREE PARKING so that whoever landed on that space won a lottery of sorts. We also played that landing directly on the GO space would net you $500 instead of $200 and we often used green and red legos to add additional houses and hotels to the game when we ran out.

Years later, I don’t even remember any specific winners from those Monopoly marathon matches. Each of us had our own preferences in game piece and strategies around which monopolies we pursued. I was almost always the dog. What I do have is a lot of great childhood memories and general warm feelings around this game. I am guessing that’s true for a lot of people. In fact, I think that every kid in America grew up with the game of buying properties, charging rent, and hoping you don’t go to jail.

Every kid, that is, except for Kansas City, Missouri mayor Quinton Lucas.

“No longer do you have to bet just on Baltic Avenue and all of those things you’ve long known. Atlantic. If you don’t know, that’s where I tend to let my pieces stay. But instead, we’ll have a chance, hopefully to, you know, bet on, or have our pieces on the Chiefs, the Royals, Zona Rosa, any number of places. So, this is great.”

— Quinton Lucas, Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, January 24, 2022

A KC edition of Monopoly will include Community Chest and Chance cards tailored to our city.

While few things are more cringeworthy than a politician trying way too hard to relate to every day folks (seriously Mr. Mayor? Letting your pieces stay on a space? Betting? This isn’t craps for goodness sake - it’s Monopoly!), Mayor Lucas did make an excellent point. This board game coming to KC is a great thing.

There are a number of amazing Kansas City institutions, brands, locations, neighborhoods, and landmarks that this game could include. It’s a great way to celebrate our city and to educate those who are not from here about Kansas City about our town. At the end of the day, the whole notion of a Kansas City edition of Monopoly is just a lot of fun for those of us from here.

As you would expect, as I shared the article about the announcement with friends and family last week, it sparked conversations of, “What has to be on a Kansas City Monopoly board?”

And instantly, I started thinking about what my ideal board would look like and what spin I would put in the game. All of a sudden, a board began to take shape.

My Approach

When this news broke, I quickly learned that Monopoly released a KCMO version of the game in 1995. After the announcement, the old board started popping up on social media and to be frank, it’s pretty tough to look at. What bothers me the most about this board, is its exclusive focus on Kansas City, Missouri. With the announcement coming from the Kansas City, Missouri mayor only, I have a similar fear that this version of the game will also ignore Kansas altogether.

“Anything and everything is up for consideration—The Kansas City Chiefs, 18th & Vine, The Scout, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, we want to know what your favorite place is to go to in Kansas City.”

— Katie Hubbard, Top Trumps USA

I get as frustrated as any other Missourian when people think that Kansas City means I am from Kansas but I also know that this city is not nearly as special with what the other side of Stateline brings.

Sure, a lot of the most notable landmarks and our Major League and NFL teams are on the Missouri side, but I do not want to live in a KC that does not include the Speedway, the Taco Trail, a number of our top BBQ joints (such as Joe’s, Woodyard, RJ’s, Roscoe’s, Blind Box, Brobeck’s, and SLAP’s among many more) or our professional soccer teams - Sporting Kansas City (MLS) and the Kansas City Current (NWSL).

Approaching my own spin on the board, I immediately committed to having at least two monopolies in the game that would feature Kansas. This needs to be a game that the entire metro can be proud of and that represents both KCMO and KCK.

Secondly, I do not want this to look like an outdated NASCAR jumpsuit a decade from now so in the spirit of the classic Atlantic City gameboard, I opted for physical locations and landmarks over brands and entities. A prime example of this is that while the 1995 edition featured professional sports team names, I chose to go with the actual stadiums.

Lastly, I am hoping to go for timeless best that I can. I want this board to represent the realities of 2022 but not be something that is totally unrecognizable years from now.

This is the mindset with which I approached my board.

The Properties

I know, I know. This has been an awful lot of build-up and you are only here to see what locations made my board and which omissions you get to complain about. Since I have so many fond memories of playing the classic version that was sold for decades until the late nineties, my take on the Kansas City board is influenced by that version. That means as I plotted out the board, I created it with the same property colors, yellow Community Chest cars, orange Chance cards, and the ten tokens that I grew up with. I also left all board placements and prices exactly the same. It was tempting for me to swap the INCOME TAX and LUXURY TAX spaces (you may understand why when you see the final board) but I could not do that in the spirit of the classic game.

Without further ado, let’s get to the board.

The “GO” Side of the Board

Considering that GO is where you begin the game, the most logical way to break down this game is to progress in the same order that your piece would move around the board. Since the corner pieces are staying the same, I will skip those. With one of my big goals being to incorporate a minimum of two Kansas monopolies, I decided to kick things off with an entire Kansas side to satisfy my self-imposed requirement.

The Dark Purple Monopoly

Changing out the Income Tax space for a City Tax was an obvious choice.

I understand that this Monopoly is now brown, but for many years it was dark purple and once again, this is the classic version I know best. I am certain there will be a couple discrepancies from the current board.

ROSEDALE ARCH

For my first space, I chose one of my favorite, and one of the most underrated, Kansas City landmarks - the Rosedale Arch. Located in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, the arch was completed in 1924 and is dedicated to the memory of all the Rosedale men who served in World War I.

KAW POINT

Kaw Point is the point at which the Kansas River empties into the Missouri River. What better metaphor for Kansas City can there possibly be than the merging of these two specific rivers? Famously, Lewis and Clark camped out here on their expedition west in 1904. A silhouette constructed at the site commemorates their stay. The adjacent Kaw Point Park also contains a memorial to all local Native American tribes.

The Sky Blue Monopoly

For the Monopoly aficionados in the room, you are likely realizing that I have skipped over the first railroad space. I assure you that I will address the railroad and utility spaces after walking through the 22 colored property squares.

STRAWBERRY HILL

Continuing with the Kansas side, I went with Strawberry Hill. Sitting on the bluffs above the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, Strawberry Hill is in many ways the heart of downtown KCK. A number of iconic Kansas City bars, restaurants, and hangouts call this neighborhood home. The neighborhood was founded in the early 1900s by Slavic immigrants, primarily Croatian, after their bottom-land homes were destroyed by flooding. Today, that influence still plays a major role in this vibrant community. Just ask anyone who has ever bought a loaf of povitica or those of us who were at the St. John’s Catholic Club to watch Croatia play France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

KANSAS SPEEDWAY

The second sky blue space puts the first sports venue on the board - Kansas Speedway. Located near the Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kansas, the Speedway was the catalyst for that entire area’s development. Home to two NASCAR race weekends every year, the Speedway has also recently become home to the American Royal World Series of Barbecue.

CHILDREN’S MERCY PARK

Just across the street from Kansas Speedway is Children’s Mercy Park so it only makes sense for them to be side-by-side on the board. As the “Soccer Capital of America”, it would be impossible to have a KC board that did not feature our professional soccer teams.

Children’s Mercy Park is home to Sporting Kansas City. Known as “The Blue Hell” by fans who flout it as a tough place for opposing teams to play, Sporting Kansas City has won the MLS Cup (2013) and three US Open Cups (2012, 2015, and 2017) since the stadium opened in 2011.

Beginning this year, it is also the interim home of the Kansas City Current. The team does have plans to construct the nation’s first stadium built specifically for a professional women’s sports team on the Berkley Riverfront in Kansas City, Missouri. Unfortunately, ground may not even be broken when the game is released. Since the Current will be at Children’s Mercy Park this year, this space celebrates both our Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League teams. Should Kansas City get another edition five years down the road, you can guarantee that the Current’s stadium would get its own, deserved space.

Modeled after Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, the Rosedale Arch is one of my favorite spots in the city and offers a phenomenal view of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. PHOTO CREDIT - LeAnn Meyer, LeAnn Sarah Photography

The “JAIL” Side of the Board

Growing up this was probably my favorite side of the board. First of all, you could land on JAIL without owing anyone money. Secondly, I might land on FREE PARKING and win the house rule lottery. BUT most importantly, my strategy was the try and own the orange monopoly and pair it with the purple monopoly before it or the red one that follows. As we turn the corner, we’re not in Kansas anymore as I select Kansas City, Missouri’s noteworthy neighborhoods, landmarks, and venues.

The Purple Monopoly

ZONA ROSA

Mayor Lucas mentioned Zona Rosa in his remarks and I agree. I felt this was an appropriate nod to the Northland. The shopping village actually didn’t exist at all the last time we had a Kansas City edition of Monopoly but in many ways, it has become the epicenter of the Northland and a destination for shopping and dining for many across, and outside of, the metro.

T-MOBILE CENTER

Bypassing the first utility on the board, I head downtown to the T-Mobile Center. Opened as the Sprint Center in 2007, this world-class arena is one of the most active concert venues in the nation and has hosted nearly every indoor sport and event you can think of. For most Kansas Citians, we most identify the T-Mobile Center as the annual home of the Big XII Men’s Basketball tournament.

KAUFFMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

In a matter of a decade, the Kauffman Performing Arts Center has become an iconic part of the Kansas City skyline and one of the most photographed buildings in the metro. The concept of a performing arts center in KC was first proposed by Muriel Kauffman, the wife and business partner of Kansas City Royals’ founder Ewing Marion Kauffman, in the mid-nineties. In 2011, Kauffman’s dream was realized. I doubt she could imagine the beauty of this marvel of modern architecture that utilizes Missouri limestone, reflective panels, and steel cables. A destination for orchestras, concerts, plays, musicals, and speaking engagements, the Kauffman Center is a must-visit for every Kansas Citian.

The Orange Monopoly

As previously mentioned, to me, this monopoly is the cornerstone of the board and key to Monopoly domination so it felt right to make this stretch about the cornerstone from which our city as we know it really grew. This monopoly features some of the most historic parts of downtown Kansas City.

When your favorite monopoly has some of your favorite places in KC…

THE PASEO BOULEVARD

One fun fact that every Kansas Citian seemingly knows is that our city has more boulevards than every city in the world except Paris. Shockingly, this has nothing to do with our nickname of “Paris of the Plains”. At least one boulevard had to be featured on the board so why not start with the city’s first, most beautiful, and most historic boulevard - The Paseo? Our city’s first landscape architect, George Kessler, was a big proponent for the “City Beautiful Movement” and it is because of his vision that this city has so many boulevards, and for that matter, so many fountains. Much of Kansas City’s architectural and landscaping beauty stem from Kessler’s design for The Paseo.

18TH & VINE HISTORIC JAZZ DISTRICT

As you drive south down The Paseo, you will run right into this second space. Jazz may have been born in Louisiana but it made its way up the Mississippi River and across the Missouri to Kansas City’s 18th & Vine District where it grew up. In its heyday, 18th & Vine never slept as legends like Charlie “Bird” Parker, Jay McShann, and Count Basie made their mark on America’s true original artform. Today, the American Jazz Museum at 18th & Vine celebrates this amazing history.

NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM

Located in the 18th & Vine District, next door to the American Jazz Museum, is one of Kansas City’s most popular tourist attractions - the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. In 1920, the first Negro League, the Negro National League, was founded at the Paseo YMCA. As many Kansas Citians know, one of the eight inaugural teams was the Kansas City Monarchs. The Monarchs were the most successful franchise in the history of the Negro Leagues. With players over the years like Wilbur “Bullet Joe” Rogan, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Hilton Smith, and John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil - they are one of the most successful clubs in professional baseball history. Today the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum preserves the history of the amazing players and teams who flourished during an era where they were unjustly barred from Major League Baseball.

Adjacent to the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, the Negro National League was founded here, at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City. Today the Paseo YMCA has been renamed for Hall of Fame manager and player Buck O’Neil. Murals painted by Alexander Austin at the site celebrate the greatest legends in Kansas City Monarchs history. PHOTO CREDIT - LeAnn Meyer, LeAnn Sarah Photography

The “FREE PARKING” Side of the Board

Before I hear the general outcry, I want to admit that by skipping past this corner of the board, I understand exactly what I have done. There is nothing that Kansas Citians love more than a surface parking lot, especially a free one. Fellow Cowtowners, please forgive me for skipping over the FREE PARKING block (although it would have been hilarious to have this space be one of the hotels at Truman Sports Complex), but we must continue to make our way around the board.

The Red Monopoly

WORLDS OF FUN

Now we get to the fun part of the board, a fun-opoly if you will! (Dorky dads, while everyone else groans, stop polishing your white New Balances and jot that one down!) The first red property is Worlds of Fun, and by extension Oceans of Fun. Worlds of Fun is our city’s amusement park and is actually the largest amusement park in the Midwest. Founded in 1973 by Lamar Hunt, Founder of the AFL, Kansas City Chiefs, and Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City), this park and its rollercoasters continue to entertain and delight thousands of Kansas Citians, and visitors, every year.

KAUFFMAN STADIUM

As we move on to the Truman Sports Complex, we venture over to Kauffman Stadium - home of the Kansas City Royals (MLB). While fans had to suffer through 29 years without a postseason appearance, the team has actually had the most postseason success of any American League expansion team since they entered the league in 1969. The Royals have won four American League Pennants (1980, 1985, 2014, & 2015) and two World Series (1985 & 2015). In times of feast and times of famine, this city loves our Boys in Blue and the beautiful ballpark where they play.

ARROWHEAD STADIUM

Neighboring the K is GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, so of course they are also neighbors on the board. Arrowhead Stadium is the home of the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL). Chiefs Kingdom is one of the most passionate fanbases in professional sports and this is their home. Arrowhead Stadium has the distinction of being the NFL’s loudest stadium having set a Guinness record of 142 decibels in 2014. Recently, Arrowhead has become the first stadium to host four consecutive NFL conference championship games (and counting, we can only hope!). Having played in the last four AFC Championships and last two Super Bowls, the Chiefs have blossomed into a perennial power. Kansas CIty loves our CHIEEEEEFFFS!

The Yellow Monopoly

KANSAS CITY ZOO

The yellow monopoly takes us over towards Swope Park which is the largest park in Kansas City and one of the largest municipal parks in the nation. When the land was donated at the beginning of the 20th Century by Thomas Swope, he hoped that it would contain within it a “zoological garden”. In 1909, he got his wish when the Kansas City Zoo opened in Swope Park. In 2008, it was named among “America’s Best Zoos”. Known largely for the free-roaming kangaroos, the Zoo has underwent a number of renovations and capital improvements in recent years that ensures Swope’s dream will delight future generations.

STARLIGHT THEATRE

Across the parking lot from the Zoo is Starlight Theatre. Starlight opened in 1951 to be, as the name suggests, “a theatre under the stars.” It boasts the largest stage of any outdoor theatre in the United States. For me, and many locals, catching at least one of the traveling Broadway shows from their always robust rotation is always on my Kansas City summer bucket list. When Starlight is not hosting musicals or plays, it host a number of other events and is low-key one of the premier concert venues in the city.

HARRY S. TRUMAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM

Heading northeast to Independence, the final space of the yellow monopoly is the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Our nation’s 33rd President, Harry S. Truman is the only POTUS to hail from Missouri and the Kansas City metro - Independence to be exact. There are fifteen Presidential libraries in the nation and we are fortunate to have one of them here in Kansas City. In fact, Truman’s was the first Presidential Library established under the Presidential Libraries Act. Truman was such a believer in historical preservation that his presidency is considered one of the most well-documented in history. I simply could not have a Kansas City game board without including Harry.

More than a re-creation of President Truman’s office, Harry S. Truman actually officed out of Truman Library in his retirement.

The “GO TO JAIL” Side of the Board

The Green Monopoly

CITY MARKET

Did you know that the City Market is the oldest-continually operating business in KC? It’s been in operation since the middle of the 1800s! While the dynamic and identity of the City Market, and the surrounding River Market neighborhood has changed over the years, it has always been a gathering place for Kansas City. Today, the City Market is known for the recognizable sign, its collection of bars and restaurants, the Steamboat Arabia Museum, and being the origin point of the KC Streetcar line. More than anything, in a city with obvious agricultural ties, it is a destination on the weekends for its farmers’ market and flea market that takes place weekly on its plaza.

CROSSROADS ARTS DISTRICT

It may be hard to believe but during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Tinsel Town had a direct connection to Kansas City when they needed a centralized distribution point to ship their feature films nationwide. Nearly every major studio had a presence in what is now known as the Crossroads Arts District. That connection to the arts persisted until the 1980s when small art galleries began to pop up within the district. The Crossroads is an area that locals frequent for its local restaurants, plethora of craft breweries, and to enjoy the beautiful art in the district whether it be expansive wall murals or small galleries. Most notably, this district on the KC Streetcar line is known for First Fridays - an event on the first Friday of each month when thousands of people flood the Crossroads as the galleries, and area businesses, open their doors to showcase local artists.

NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM & (LIBERTY) MEMORIAL

Another one of those facts that every Kansas Citian seems to know is that the only National War Monument not located in Washington, D.C. is the National World War I Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. At the conclusion of the Great War, Kansas Citians rallied to raise $2.5 million to build a monument in memory of those who had been lost. Also known as the Liberty Memorial, the towering monument was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge in front of a crowd of over 150,000 people in 1926. In the 1990s, Kansas Citians rallied once again to restore the monument and approve a subterranean expansion to house a museum dedicated to World War I. The museum opened its doors in 2006 and was designated by Congress as the nation’s official World War I museum. In the 16 years it has been open, over two million people have visited the museum.

The Royal Blue Monopoly

While the KC Streetcar does not yet extend beyond Liberty Memorial, it seemed like a fun idea to make this side of the board a natural progression of what the streetcar line will soon be.

To put any barbeque restaurant on the board without the others just felt wrong. This is the World Capital of BBQ after all! Replacing LUXURY TAX with a space dedicated to all of our BBQ joints made sense because, well, what greater luxury is there than always being within 10 minutes of world-class barbeque?

WESTPORT

On any given Friday or Saturday night, thousands flock to Westport to enjoy one of the city’s most popular bar and restaurant districts. Beyond a place to just have fun, the district is actually important to the city’s history. Westport was the original settlement from which Kansas City as we now know it grew. Founded in 1921 by John Calvin McCoy (for whom the former McCoy’s restaurant was named), our city was essentially established at the intersection of Westport Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. For those heading west to Oregon, California, Santa Fe, and Salt Lake City, Westport was the last bastion of civilization before traversing the Great Plains which made it a popular supply stop for western settlers.

COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA

I have a confession to make. It took me all of ten seconds after hearing about the Kansas City edition of the game to determine what the most expensive property on the board would be - it had to be the Country Club Plaza! This was the very first space I placed on my board.

The first thing most associate the Plaza with is the beautiful lights during the holiday season every year. The district is filled with a number of fountains and is known for being home to more high-end restaurants, bars, and shopping. From a historic perspective, the Country Club Plaza was the first regional shopping center designed to be accessible by automobile when it opened in 1923. The actual architecture, iconic tower, and tile mosaics are primarily borrowed from Seville, Spain which is why Seville was Kansas City’s first sister city, establishing that relationship in 1967.

Every winter, it’s not officially the holiday season until the lights on the Country Club Plaza have been flipped on. PHOTO CREDIT - Jenny Turner

The Utilities

What makes the utility spaces in Monopoly so unique is that they are the only spaces on the board with a varying cost each time that you land on them - much like actual utilities themselves. To not tailor the Electric Company and Water Works spaces to Kansas City would have been a huge miss.

KANSAS CITY POWER & LIGHT DISTRICT

The utilities offered a chance to incorporate our city’s premier entertainment district and our status as City of Fountains into the board.

Did you seriously think that I would have all these properties on the board and not incorporate Kansas City’s living room into the board? Once again, putting KCP&L on the block where there’s already a light bulb, it just made sense to me. The Power & Light District opened in 2007 and that development has really been the spark for the much-needed transformation that has taken place in downtown Kansas City. In the middle of the bars and restaurants sits Kansas City LIVE! More than just a beer garden or concert venue, it really is Kansas City’s living room. This is where we gather for the big moments. In 2010, millions across the country were introduced to the district when they saw the way KC packed out Power & Light to support the US Men’s National Team in the FIFA World Cup. As Kansas City made it to back-to-back World Series and back-to-back Super Bowls, the nation has continued to get a glimpse into the passion of Kansas Citians through the way we gather in our “living room”.

SWOPE PARK FOUNTAINS

If you recall, I said that the Country Club Plaza was the very first space I placed on my board. This one was a close second. While I had not yet arrived at Swope Park for this space, I knew that the space dedicated to water would feature a fountain or multiple fountains. In the latest entry of fun facts that every Kansas Citian knows - we have more fountains than every city in the world except Rome. In deciding how to best highlight our status as the City of Fountains, it would have been easy to highlight the Mill Creek Fountain, or the collection of fountains at the Country Club Plaza or on The Paseo as a whole. However, with the Kansas City Zoo and Starlight Theatre immediately next to the Water Works space, highlighting the collection of fountains in our city’s largest park just felt like the logical move.

Community Chest and Chance cards could provide an opportunity to highlight the Kansas City landmarks and traditions that don’t make it on to the board.

The Railroads

I know that I have drug this out long enough and that most social media speculation about the Kansas City edition has been about how the railroad spaces would be handled. Among the most notable suggestions have been four of the more popular Kansas City barbeque joints or the four major professional sports teams. While these are both good ideas, I decided to stick to the original spirit of the game’s railroads by having a public transportation theme for these spaces.

PORT OF KANSAS CITY

The Missouri River, as well as the Kansas River, is such an important aspect of this city’s history, our commerce, and our identity. By including the port, I acknowledge the river’s importance to our city. Historically, Kansas City has been a major point of distribution and at one point, millions of tons of freight passed through this facility. While shipping has been down in recent years, real efforts are being made to revitalize the barge industry since it is both cost effective and has a less negative environmental impact than alternative shipping methods. While the Port is technically on the Missouri side, it is located at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers so it makes sense for this be the railroad space on my “Kansas side” of the board.

UNION STATION

When Union Station first opened in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared it a “great gate to the west”. However, by the time the last KC edition of Monopoly dropped, the once-great train station was in a state of disastrous disrepair and had been completely shut down. Luckily, Kansas City found a way to save this historic, and grandiose, limestone building. It is once again a train station with regular Amtrak service and the final stop (for now) on the KC Streetcar line as well. It is also home to shops, restaurants, and a rotating cast of attractions. Union Station has gone from marvel to blight to a point of civic pride. It is such a recognizable part of our city’s skyline and had to make the board.

KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MCI)

For those who have read disKCovery for some time, you know how much I wish this space could read as Henry Perry International Airport. For now at least, the name remains Kansas City International Airport. That is likely to change when our new, single terminal airport opens next year so this is once again a situation similar to the KC Current stadium. We simply do not have a name yet. Among the other things that remain to be seen are how the new terminal will impact international flights offered or whether Kansas City becomes a hub for a major airline. Regardless, the inclusion of KCI, when talking about transportation options, requires little explanation, even if the name may differ in a few years.

KC STREETCAR

At this point, my love for the KC Streetcar is well-documented. When Mayor Lucas first tweeted about the Monopoly announcement on Twitter, the KC Streetcar humbly asked for consideration as a game piece. But that’s just not good enough! The public transportation option that continues to redefine the Main Street corridor deserves to be its own property. While the KC Streetcar is not even yet six years old, it has become such a major part of our downtown’s identity.

Currently the Streetcar only runs less than two miles from River Market to Union Station. But, soon enough, it will run all the way down to Brookside. It is for that reason, as an added bonus, that the final stretch of the board is reflective of the KC Streetcar’s future route, in geographic order - from City Market to the Country Club Plaza

The Tokens

While I understand that, at least as of this moment, Hasbro has announced that all game pieces will go unchanged from the current version of Monopoly, I had already let my mind wander with what the best Kansas City game pieces would be. Personally, I think that part of designing a game that celebrates our great city should involve having tokens that also represent KC. In 1995, that version did have customized tokens.

With the obvious limitations of only being able to customize 30 spaces on a 40 space board, tailoring the tokens to this city was a way for me to pay homage to Kansas City landmarks and institutions that didn’t make the cut. At the risk of aging myself, the version of the game I grew up with had ten tokens instead of the current eight. Sticking to the classic board plays in my favor as I cannot imagine having to eliminate another pair of tokens from this list.

Kansas City’s own Charlie “Bird” Parker invented bebop and is considered by many to the be the greatest saxophonist who ever lived.

Airplane

One might see the airplane and think that’s a nod to so-called “Flyover Country”. Of course, my readers know that FLYOVER COUNTRY IS A MYTH. This is actually a reference to two key pieces of KC history. Famously, Kansas City was the headquarters for Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines (TWA). Today, that history is still celebrated at the TWA Museum at Charles Wheeler Airport. The National Airline Museum is also located at Charles Wheeler. While Atchison, Kansas is technically not a part of the KC Metro, it is also a nod to one of the greatest aviators ever - Kansas’ own Amelia Earhart. However, if Kansas Citians see the plane and think of Roasterie Coffee? That’s ok too.

Alto Saxophone

It is important to specify that this has to be an alto saxophone. It is intended to pay homage to the greatest saxophonist who ever lived - Charlie “Bird” Parker. Born in Kansas City, Kansas and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Bird basically invented Bebop, a variant of jazz that is characterized by an uptempo series of complicated chord sequences and sudden changes in key that merged conflicting melodies into a harmonious, pure sound. Since Parker’s gravestone erroneously bears a tenor saxophone, it is important to get this tribute right. This piece also pays homage to the American Jazz Museum which is one of only two museums in the world that has one of Parker’s saxophones on display.

Bottle of BBQ Sauce

While Kansas City barbeque did make the board, this city is most known to outsiders for being the World Capital of BBQ. Beef burnt ends and cheesy corn are the dishes unique to Kansas City but beyond not being ideal for game pieces, there is one contribution for which we have always been known. Sauce. While our best-in-the-world smoked meats don’t NEED sauce, it just makes everything better. When Arthur Bryant first added molasses to Henry Perry’s signature sauce, he put Kansas City on the map. While our pitmasters do everything well, it has always been our sauce that defines Kansas City style barbeque.

While the tokens are not currently up for discussion, the Chance cards definitely are. You may not always win at Monopoly but Kansas Citians know that the Independence Avenue Bridge is undefeated.

Covered Wagon

Honoring the history of Westport and Independence, Missouri, it is hard to talk about Kansas City without talking about the trails of westward expansion that originated here - California Trail, Mormon Trail, Oregon Trail, and Santa Fe Trail. Many Gen Xers and Millennials remember playing the Oregon Trail computer game and picking up their supplies in Independence. These trails were packed with Hiram Young’s covered wagons. Our city was the point from which this nation achieved its manifest destiny and that is a history that must be celebrated.

Cow

Or, technically, I would choose a steer. Another area that I hated to leave off the board was the West Bottoms which are the home of the former famed Kansas City Stockyards. So much of our city’s history is connected to agriculture and specifically, the beef trade. In fact, it was these stockyards that made it possible for Kansas City to become the World Capital of Barbeque. As a nod to Cowtown, the West Bottoms, and our most famous dish - the beef burnt end - this piece is a must.

Crown

For one reason or another, our city has a history of our professional sports teams being named for rulers and royalty. Think about it. In the Negro Leagues, we had the Kansas City Monarchs. We had the Kansas City Kings in the NBA. Today, we have the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs. The crown piece honors that tradition. My reason for choosing the piece was in honor of one of our most famous brands, Hallmark Cards, and the fact that I, regrettably, was unable to include Crown Center on my board. However you choose to view this piece’s inclusion, KC is most definitely Crown Town.

Heart

This is the Heartland. Kansas City Missouri’s flag bears a heart made out of fountains. The proposed KC Flag that has gained a strong following on both sides of Stateline in recent years also bears a heart. The most well-known clothing item in Kansas City is Charlie Hustle’s KC Heart t-shirts. What you may not realize is that logo is a modernized version of a sleeve patch that was once worn by the greatest professional sports team in this city’s history - the Kansas City Monarchs. Once again, celebrating our status as the Heart of America just seemed appropriate.

Penguin

A penguin may not seem like the most Kansas City game piece, unless you run into a Northlander. With only KCI and Zona Rosa on the board, I wanted to include one more nod to the Northland. Originally a part of Lakewood Greenway Park, Penguin Park officially became it’s own park in 1998. Known throughout Kansas City for the many giant fiberglass animals that inhabit the playground, the first of these is a giant, 25 feet tall, fiberglass penguin that was built in 1965 and is still standing today. Nowadays, there are also a number of smaller fiberglass penguins around the park. People from all over the metro go out of their way to enjoy this Northland park and its fiberglass menagerie.

Scout

If you ask anyone to name the most notable Kansas City landmarks, The Scout at Penn Valley Park is likely to be among them. The century-old statue of a Sioux scout on horseback overlooks downtown Kansas City and has grown to be a monument that celebrates the rich Native American history of this region. Most famously, the Scout statue inspired the name of the city’s former NHL team - the Kansas City Scouts - and was even featured on the hockey sweaters. Being unable to include it on my board, I had to incorporate it as a game piece. It’s the perfect stand-in for the old rider on horseback token. You cannot have Kansas City Monopoly without The Scout.

Smokestack

I will be honest, this was the latest entrant of all these tokens to make the field - a true Cinderella story if you will! However, when I had my finalists (this replaced Riverboat), I knew many would be upset that Boulevard Brewing is not represented anywhere on my board. Kansas City has an amazing microbrewery and craft beer scene that all began with John McDonald and Boulevard Brewing Company in 1989. Including Boulevard’s iconic smokestack is not only a celebration of one of the largest craft breweries in the country, but a celebration of the entire craft beer scene we enjoy here in Kansas City for which Boulevard paved the way.

As was the case with the properties, about 25 options were considered for game pieces but these were the ten that I felt best represented our city and also pay tribute to the most glaring omissions on my game board.

The Final Reveal of the Board

Now I realize there’s a good chance that you just skipped to the end to see the board. After reading about the spaces, you are likely eager to see how the entire board fits together but before you glance at the board, this is where I make my final reveal. I broke another rule!

“Narrowing down our great city that spans two states to 30 properties and 10 tokens was far from easy ... I just hope that I did Kansas City justice with this board.”

The announcement of the Kansas City Monopoly game mentioned that Hasbro intends to keep the corner spaces and game tokens the same. However, in true Billy Mays fashion, “WAIT THERE’S MORE!”

There are two pretty notable landmark absences that have not made my board thus far but that is because I found a way to work these Kansas City institutions into two of the corner squares. I understand that Hasbro has set their parameters but somebody has to be the one to ask, “Why not?”

FREE ADMISSION

I would never dare to exclude the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art from my gameboard! Nor could I ignore the giant shuttlecocks that are a must-have photo op for every local and visitor alike. One thing that all Kansas Citians know makes our premier art museum great is the famed free admission. So, replacing ‘FREE PARKING’ with a ‘FREE ADMISSION’ square was an obvious choice. Originally, I hoped to include a shuttlecock as a token (a piece that would’ve had many thimble vibes at my friend Nathan’s suggestion), but this feels like the perfect way to feature the Nelson in this game. KC, accept my apologies for removing free surface parking from the game.

I know the corner squares are not, currently, up for debate, but that didn’t stop me from squeezing in two more Kansas City landmarks.

WESTERN AU - GO!

It’s the most important space on the board! It’s not only where you begin the game but every time you pass “GO!” you get paid. And if you played by my house rules, landing on the square netted you $500! The Western Auto Building and sign are one of the most beloved landmarks in the downtown skyline. From 2015 - 2018, when the sign went dark due to a lack of funds, the Crossroads just didn’t feel the same. Luckily, thousands of Kansas Citians donated the necessary money to replace over 2,500 bulbs and turn the sign back on! The red arrow that is ever-present on the GO space inspired me to use this square to include a landmark that otherwise I would not have fit on the board. As it’s not the exact logo or arrow, I did not label this crowded square as “Western Auto” but it is still a nice Easter egg for those from KC.

The official disKCovery proposal for the Kansas City Edition of Monopoly. DESIGNED & CREATED BY - Devan Dignan, *disKCovery* | TEMPLATE CREDIT - Jeff Geerling, Seminopoly

Narrowing down our great city that spans two states to 30 properties and 10 tokens was far from easy. There were so many tokens and properties that I just, sadly, could not fit into the game but hopefully they can have a presence in the Chance and Community Chest cards. I just hope that I did Kansas City justice with this board.

We are the World Capital of Barbeque, the Cradle of Jazz, the Gateway to the Southwest, the City of Fountains, the Heart of America, and the Paris of the Plains. We are the Soccer Capital of America, Royals Nation, and Chiefs Kingdom. These are all stories that this game should help tell and traditions that the Kansas City edition of Monopoly should celebrate. I sincerely believe this board accomplished that best it can.

To the good people at Hasbro and Top Trumps USA, please consider this my proposal for what the official Kansas City edition of Monopoly should look like. Like many across Fountain City, I cannot wait to see how you depict our city. I am excited to buy my own copy of the game this October.

And come Thanksgiving, when one of my brothers buys up the Negro League Baseball Museum and prevents me from owning the entire orange monopoly, I look forward to flipping over the Kansas City board in a fit of adolescent rage. Because, hey, some things just never change.

Those Pesky Endnotes That I Often Insist Upon

*No seriously, a fiend. For a period, in the late nineties, my father was the #1 ranked player in the world on the world’s largest online platform for the Monopoly computer game. And even though he passed away nine years ago, and the site appears to still be active, my dad, Jerry Edward Patrick Dignan (JEPD), is still ranked first in terms of games played and number of wins. See, I really wasn’t kidding. I came by my love of Monopoly honestly.

Ok, let me hear it! What did I forget? What did I include that shouldn’t make the cut? What glaring mistakes did I make? What landmarks are musts for your version of the game? Any good Chance or Community Chest cards? Let me hear it in the comments and as always, thank you for reading!

Until March 13, you can also email your suggestions to kansascity@toptrumps.com for a chance for them to be included in the game!

Mr. Monopoly Goes To Kansas City