When we recently wrote that a game maker was seeking nominations for spots on a St. Paul edition of the Monopoly board game, readers sent us ideas for places, spaces and shops.
Carole Needels, however, had some news for us.
“There already is a St. Paul game of Monopoly,” the 83-year-old St. Paul resident informed us. “Years ago, we bought one from Junior Achievement.”
In an online search, we also found other editions of Monopoly from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Minnesota, our suburbs … as well as a Hasbro-authorized Twin Cities edition that dates back to 1997.
Today’s Hasbro-authorized edition of St. Paul Monopoly will debut in 2025. Top Trumps USA, the Rhode-Island based game company behind this edition, has almost wrapped up the nomination process.
(“Trumps” does not refer to the President-elect, if you were wondering; it’s the name of a card game that is well known in the United Kingdom and on the rise here in the United States.)
Tim Barney, game manager at Top Trumps, has learned a lot about St. Paul during his research of the capital city.
“St. Paul is a very cool community with a rich culture and an amazing heritage; with everything from museums to a great number of restaurants, it is not lacking for anything,” Barney says. “It will make for a really beautiful and complete board game that will be a celebration of St. Paul.”
There are still some nomination gaps for board elements, though, including finance.
“Any financial institution is eligible,” Barney says. “They have an opportunity to be the official bank in the game and be featured on the money and property deeds.
“I’m also interested in someone for the tax space so folks in that sector can apply to be one or both of the two tax spots,” he says. “Utilities is another area I’m looking for. I’d also consider electricians, plumbing companies, and other various trades as they work well in those areas.”
Submit a nomination at us.toptrumps.com/pages/saint-paul-monopoly.
Time capsules
Monopoly — representing the American experience of wheeling and dealing real estate — has been a staple in households since Parker Brothers began marketing it in 1935.
Monopoly is now part of Hasbro, the game and toy company. Top Trumps USA, Inc., a division of Winning Moves International, is based in Rhode Island and has created authorized, community editions of Monopoly over the last few years, including Detroit and Cape Cod.
Minneapolis could be a future edition, Barney says.
Without getting into an essay on patents and copyrights and case law, there are other Monopoly or Monopoly-like editions out there, focused on cities, states and other themes.
As for the “St. Paulopoly” edition in the Needels home, she says it is one acquired long ago by her late husband, Roger Needels, who was a St. Paul business owner. He was a supporter of Junior Achievement North, a nonprofit that introduces youth to careers, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and more.
“It has little wooden houses and paper money,” Needels says. “I don’t know if we ever played it.”
It’s a time capsule of sorts:
“There’s a card for medical bills, it says, ‘Pay St. John’s Hospital;’ that’s gone,” Needels says. “There’s another one for $20 tickets to the Minnesota Vikings — that’s an old one! … And ‘Purchase a sports coat at Dayton’s for $50.’ … Here’s a card for ‘Pay $10 overdraft fee to Northwestern National Bank,’ I think overdraft fees are $30 now, maybe more.
” … But the street names are pretty much the same: Grand Avenue, Summit, Arcade, Payne, Como, Larpenteur …”
While the Pioneer Press was unable to reach staff at Junior Achievement North for comment over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it’s fun to compare this game to the Twin Cities edition from 1997. That version highlights Northwest Airlines (now Delta), Byerly’s (now Lunds & Byerlys) and Dayton’s (still missed).
Nominations
Since we began covering the news of the upcoming St. Paul Monopoly, readers have been emailing us their nominations.
Their suggestions include Como Park, Hmong Village, Heimie’s Haberdashery, the Ice Palaces of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, Pig’s Eye, Candyland … and, among many others, two nominations that stand out.
“I believe the perfect candidate to represent Utilities in the Monopoly-St. Paul Edition is the historic Water Tower in the Highland Park Neighborhood,” wrote Steve Schneider, retired St. Paul Regional Water Services general manager, in an email to the Pioneer Press.
“I submitted this to the Top Trumps website this morning after reading your article in the Pioneer Press,” Schneider wrote. “Nothing represents water utilities (or any other utility) in Saint Paul better than this nearly century old iconic structure that towers over Highland Park. Saint Paul Regional Water Services continues to maintain the structure (that still has a functioning pumping station in its lower level) so that the public can enjoy the views from the observation deck twice annually.
“I know SPRWS is proud of the Highland Water Tower and would be happy to see it represent utilities on the new Monopoly edition!”
The other standout involves a saloon that is located at 1567 University Ave. W. in St. Paul.
“In my ongoing quest to keep a 150 year old Twin Cities saloon relevant, I believe The Midway Saloon is an ideal reference for a Minnesota Monopoly spot,” David Tolchiner of St. Paul wrote in an email to the paper. “Since 1892 The Midway Saloon, (formerly Christiansions and Big Vs) has entertained celebrities, politicians, streetcar operators, business owners, and neighborhood patrons.
“Live music, pool tables, cold beer, and a world class whiskey offering make The Midway Saloon a worthwhile stop,” he wrote. “The Midway Saloon is in the heart of Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood, just over a mile from the Capitol in Saint Paul.”
As for Needels, she does not hesitate when asked for her nomination:
“The Gopher Bar,” she says.
The Gopher Bar, at 241 E. Seventh St. in Lowertown, is known for its Coney Island dogs.
For Needels, the place reminds her of her late husband and the business their family once owned.
“He owned Needels Company in St. Paul, they sold commercial cleaning supplies,” she says. “My husband would hire our daughter’s friends to come down and help put the catalog together. He’d pick up Coneys next door to feed them all lunch. The Coneys cost close to a dollar at one time — I’m sure they have gone up tremendously since then!”
