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Last Friday, Cambridge earned a unique accolade: it became the first small city in the United States to boast its own edition of the Monopoly board game.
Cambridge residents may find properties from this newest edition of Monopoly strikingly familiar. The Cambridge edition of the popular board game — released by the toy and game company Hasbro, Inc. on Nov. 13 — features recognizable sites throughout the city, such as Longfellow Bridge, the Charles River, the Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge City Hall, and Graffiti Alley.
“We are excited about Monopoly’s newest edition of the game showcasing my hometown – Cambridge, Massachusetts,” Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said to NBC Boston. “This edition will bring residents and non-residents together in exploring Cambridge’s beautiful, diverse, and rich history, all while playing this iconic game.”
Cambridge residents voted to select the locations that would be represented this past summer. Harvard — as well as surrounding colleges and universities like MIT — has its own property on the board.
The new Monopoly edition also includes a variety of historic sites in Cambridge, such as Longfellow House, the home of the renowned poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first garden cemetery in the United States.
Three Cambridge-based nonprofit organizations — the Cambridge Health Alliance, the American Repertory Theater, and Lovin’ Spoonfuls — are featured on Community Chest cards.
Hasbro also invited the Cambridge Health Alliance to have its own square on the Monopoly board, according to David Sternburg, who serves as director of development for the Cambridge Health Alliance.
The Cambridge Health Alliance operates the Cambridge Public Health Commission, Sternburg said. It provides access to medical care for vulnerable people who have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People recognize what we’ve been doing and recommend us,” Sternburg said. “We go above and beyond to really help people in the community feel safe and cared for.”
The Cambridge Monopoly edition launched last week at the Kimpton Hotel Marlowe.
